Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
11:21
Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
Published on: March 30, 2017
7.8K
Exploring dynamical phase transitions with cold atoms in an optical cavity
Juan A Muniz1, Diego Barberena1,2, Robert J Lewis-Swan1,2
1JILA, NIST and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
Nature
|May 1, 2020
Summary
Researchers observed distinct dynamical phases of matter using strontium atoms in an optical cavity, simulating a quantum magnetism model. This work explores quantum many-body physics and dynamical phase transitions in controlled environments.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Quantum magnetism
- Atomic physics
Background:
- Collective quantum phenomena are studied using atoms in optical cavities.
- Atom-light interactions and dissipation lead to non-classical steady states.
- Dynamical phases of matter, stabilized out-of-equilibrium, exhibit universal behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simulate the collective Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model using strontium atoms in an optical cavity.
- To investigate distinct dynamical phases of matter in this quantum system.
- To probe the dependence of dynamical phase transitions on system parameters.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an ensemble of approximately one million strontium-88 atoms.
- Employed an optical cavity to mediate atom-light interactions.
- Simulated a collective Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model.
Main Results:
- Observed distinct dynamical phases of matter.
- Demonstrated the ability to probe dynamical phase transitions.
- System parameters were varied to study their influence on phase transitions.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully simulated a collective quantum magnetism model.
- Distinct dynamical phases of matter were identified and characterized.
- The system offers potential for generating entangled states for quantum-enhanced atomic clocks.
Related Concept Videos
02:31Phase Transitions
22.2K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
22.2K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
20.3K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
20.3K
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
14.4K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
14.4K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
19.4K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
19.4K
00:59States of Matter and Phase Changes
4.2K
The internal energy of a substance—the total kinetic energy of all its molecules and the potential energy of their associated forces—depends on the strength of the intermolecular forces in the condensed phases and the pressure exerted on the substance. The internal energy of a substance is the highest in the gaseous state, the lowest in the solid state, and intermediate in the liquid state. Phase transitions are caused by changes in physical conditions, such as temperature and...
4.2K
01:19Phase Diagram
6.8K
The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).
6.8K