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Published on: October 31, 2019
Reversible Phasonic Control of a Quantum Phase Transition in a Quasicrystal
Toshihiko Shimasaki1, Yifei Bai1, H Esat Kondakci1
1Department of Physics, <a href="https://ror.org/02t274463">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>, California 93106, USA.
Abstract:
Periodic driving can tune the quasistatic properties of quantum matter. A well-known example is the dynamical modification of tunneling by an oscillating electric field. Here we show experimentally that driving the phasonic degree of freedom of a cold-atom quasicrystal can continuously tune the effective quasidisorder strength, reversibly toggling a localization-delocalization quantum phase transition. Measurements agree with fit-parameter-free theoretical predictions, and illuminate a fundamental connection between Aubry-André localization in one dimension and dynamic localization in the associated two-dimensional Harper-Hofstadter model. These results open up new experimental possibilities for dynamical coherent control of quantum phase transitions.
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