Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
11:21
Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
Published on: March 30, 2017
8.0K
Purification and many-body localization in cold atomic gases
Felix Andraschko1, Tilman Enss2, Jesko Sirker1
1Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, Technical University Kaiserslautern, D-67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2N2, Canada.
Physical Review Letters
|December 6, 2014
Summary
We demonstrate many-body localization in cold atomic gases using a disordered Bose-Hubbard chain. Measuring site occupations reveals clear localization signatures, confirmed by entanglement entropy and level statistics.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Atomic physics
Background:
- Many-body localization (MBL) is a quantum phenomenon preventing thermalization in disordered systems.
- Cold atomic gases provide a controllable platform for simulating complex quantum phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally observe many-body localization in cold atomic gases.
- To identify robust signatures of the MBL phase in nonequilibrium dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Realization of a Bose-Hubbard chain with binary disorder in cold atomic gases.
- Preparation of a density-wave state and measurement of site occupation differences.
- Numerical simulations using density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) with a purification approach.
Main Results:
- Clear signatures of localization observed through site occupation measurements.
- Logarithmic growth of entanglement entropy over time confirmed as an MBL hallmark.
- Poissonian level statistics identified as characteristic of the MBL phase.
- Exact disorder averaging achieved, yielding noise-free data and extended simulation times.
Conclusions:
- The proposed method provides a viable pathway for observing MBL in cold atomic gases.
- The identified signatures offer robust experimental probes for detecting the MBL phase.
- Advanced numerical techniques enable precise characterization of MBL dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
1.4K
In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis, the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis.
1.4K
02:45The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
62.3K
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing...
62.3K
01:14Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
2.6K
Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
2.6K
01:27Atomic Spectroscopy: Effects of Temperature
1.2K
Atomization, converting samples into gas-phase atoms and ions, is essential for atomic spectroscopy. The flame temperature required for atomization affects the efficiency of the atomic spectroscopic methods by increasing the atomization efficiency and the relative population of the excited and ground states.
At thermal equilibrium, the relative populations of excited and ground state atoms can be estimated using the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. For example, an increase in temperature...
At thermal equilibrium, the relative populations of excited and ground state atoms can be estimated using the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. For example, an increase in temperature...
1.2K
01:03Sublimation
5.9K
Sublimation is the direct transformation of a solid to a gaseous state. For instance, at standard pressure and room temperature, solid carbon dioxide sublimes to gaseous carbon dioxide. The phase diagram depicts the conditions required for sublimation. This process occurs at the solid-gas phase boundary and is not observed above the triple point of the substance. The reverse of sublimation is called deposition, where a gaseous substance condenses directly into a solid. Sublimation and...
5.9K
02:26Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
58.7K
Particles in a solid are tightly packed together (fixed shape) and often arranged in a regular pattern; in a liquid, they are close together with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape); in a gas, they are far apart with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape). Particles in a solid vibrate about fixed positions (cannot flow) and do not generally move in relation to one another; in a liquid, they move past each other (can flow) but remain in essentially constant contact; in a gas, they move...
58.7K