Parametric amplification of matter waves in periodically translated optical lattices

Spin- and Momentum-Correlated Atom Pairs Mediated by Photon Exchange and Seeded by Vacuum Fluctuations

Engineering pairs of massive particles that are simultaneously correlated in their external and internal degrees of freedom is a major challenge, yet essential for advancing fundamental tests of physics and quantum technologies. In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate a mechanism for generating pairs of atoms in well-defined spin and momentum modes. This mechanism couples atoms from a degenerate Bose gas via a superradiant photon-exchange process in an optical cavity, producing pairs via a single channel or two discernible channels. The scheme is independent of collisional interactions, fast, and tunable. We observe a collectively enhanced production of pairs and probe interspin correlations in momentum space. We characterize the emergent pair statistics and find that the observed dynamics is consistent with being primarily seeded by vacuum fluctuations in the corresponding atomic modes. Together with our observations of coherent many-body oscillations involving well-defined momentum modes, our results offer promising prospects for quantum-enhanced interferometry and quantum simulation experiments using entangled matter waves.

Generating Multiparticle Entangled States by Self-Organization of Driven Ultracold Atoms

We describe a mechanism for guiding the dynamical evolution of ultracold atomic motional degrees of freedom toward multiparticle entangled Dicke-squeezed states, via nonlinear self-organization under external driving. Two examples of many-body models are investigated. In the first model, the external drive is a temporally oscillating magnetic field leading to self-organization by interatomic scattering. In the second model, the drive is a pump laser leading to transverse self-organization by photon-atom scattering in a ring cavity. We numerically demonstrate the generation of multiparticle entangled states of atomic motion and discuss prospective experimental realizations of the models. For the cavity case, the calculations with adiabatically eliminated photonic sidebands show significant momentum entanglement generation can occur even in the "bad cavity" regime. The results highlight the potential for using self-organization of atomic motion in quantum technological applications.

Resonantly enhanced polariton wave mixing and parametric instability in a Floquet medium

We introduce a new theoretical approach for analyzing pump and probe experiments in non-linear systems of optical phonons. In our approach, the effect of coherently pumped polaritons is modeled as providing time-periodic modulation of the system parameters. Within this framework, propagation of the probe pulse is described by the Floquet version of Maxwell's equations and leads to such phenomena as frequency mixing and resonant parametric production of polariton pairs. We analyze light reflection from a slab of insulating material with a strongly excited phonon-polariton mode and obtain analytic expressions for the frequency-dependent reflection coefficient for the probe pulse. Our results are in agreement with recent experiments by Cartella et al. which demonstrated light amplification in resonantly excited SiC insulator. We show that, beyond a critical pumping strength, such systems should exhibit Floquet parametric instability, which corresponds to resonant scattering of the pump polaritons into pairs of finite momentum polaritons. We find that the parametric instability should be achievable in SiC using current experimental techniques and discuss its signatures, including the non-analytic frequency dependence of the reflection coefficient and the probe pulse afterglow. We discuss possible applications of the parametric instability phenomenon and suggest that similar types of instabilities can be present in other photoexcited non-linear systems.

Topological Switch for Non-Hermitian Skin Effect in Cold-Atom Systems with Loss

We propose a realistic cold-atom quantum setting where topological localization induces nonreciprocal pumping. This is an intriguing non-Hermitian phenomenon that illustrates how topology, when assisted with atom loss, can act as a "switch" for the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE), rather than as a passive property that is modified by the NHSE. In particular, we present a lattice-shaking scenario to realize a two-dimensional cold-atom platform, where nonreciprocity is switched on only in the presence of both atom loss and topological localization due to time-reversal symmetry breaking. The resultant nonreciprocal pumping is manifested by asymmetric dynamical evolution, detectable by atomic populations along the system edges. Our setup may trigger possible applications in nonreciprocal atomtronics, where loss and topological mechanisms conspire to control atomic transport. Its quantum nature will also facilitate future studies on the interplay between non-Hermiticity and many-body physics.

Floquet group theory and its application to selection rules in harmonic generation

Symmetry is one of the most generic and useful concepts in science, often leading to conservation laws and selection rules. Here we formulate a general group theory for dynamical symmetries (DSs) in time-periodic Floquet systems, and derive their correspondence to observable selection rules. We apply the theory to harmonic generation, deriving closed-form tables linking DSs of the driving laser and medium (gas, liquid, or solid) in (2+1)D and (3+1)D geometries to the allowed and forbidden harmonic orders and their polarizations. We identify symmetries, including time-reversal-based, reflection-based, and elliptical-based DSs, which lead to selection rules that are not explained by currently known conservation laws. We expect the theory to be useful for ultrafast high harmonic symmetry-breaking spectroscopy, as well as in various other systems such as Floquet topological insulators.

Density Waves and Jet Emission Asymmetry in Bose Fireworks

A Bose condensate, subject to periodic modulation of the two-body interactions, was recently observed to emit matter-wave jets resembling fireworks [Nature (London) 551, 356 (2017)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature24272]. In this Letter, combining experiment with numerical simulation, we demonstrate that these "Bose fireworks" represent a late stage in a complex time evolution of the driven condensate. We identify a "density wave" stage which precedes jet emission and results from the interference of matter waves. The density waves self-organize and self-amplify without breaking long range translational symmetry. This density wave structure deterministically establishes the template for the subsequent patterns of the emitted jets. Moreover, our simulations, in good agreement with experiment, address an apparent asymmetry in the jet pattern, and show that it is fully consistent with momentum conservation.

Self-Adapted Floquet Dynamics of Ultracold Bosons in a Cavity

Floquet dynamics of a quantum system subject to periodic modulations of system parameters provides a powerful tool for engineering new quantum matter with exotic properties. While system dynamics is significantly altered, the periodic modulation itself is usually induced externally and independent of Floquet dynamics. Here we propose a new type of Floquet physics for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) subject to a shaken lattice generated inside a cavity, where the shaken lattice and atomic Floquet bands are mutually dependent, resulting in self-adapted Floquet dynamics. In particular, the shaken lattice induces Floquet quasienergy bands for the BEC, whose backaction leads to a self-adapted dynamical normal-superradiant phase transition for the shaken lattice. Such self-adapted Floquet dynamics shows two surprising and unique features: (i) The normal-superradiant phase transition possesses a hysteresis even without atom interactions. (ii) The dynamical atom-cavity steady state could exist at free energy maxima. The atom interactions strongly affect the phase transition of the BEC from zero to finite momenta. Our results provide a powerful platform for exploring self-adapted Floquet physics, which may open an avenue for engineering novel quantum materials.

Correlated Dynamics in a Synthetic Lattice of Momentum States

We study the influence of atomic interactions on quantum simulations in momentum-space lattices (MSLs), where driven transitions between discrete momentum states mimic transport between sites of a synthetic lattice. Low-energy atomic collisions, which are short ranged in real space, relate to nearly infinite-ranged interactions in momentum space. However, the added exchange energy between atoms in distinguishable momentum states leads to an effectively attractive, finite-ranged interaction between atoms in momentum space. In this Letter, we observe the onset of self-trapping driven by such interactions in a momentum-space double well, paving the way for more complex many-body studies in tailored MSLs. We consider the types of phenomena that may result from these interactions, including the formation of chiral solitons in zigzag flux lattices.

Universal space-time scaling symmetry in the dynamics of bosons across a quantum phase transition

The dynamics of many-body systems spanning condensed matter, cosmology, and beyond are hypothesized to be universal when the systems cross continuous phase transitions. The universal dynamics are expected to satisfy a scaling symmetry of space and time with the crossing rate, inspired by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. We test this symmetry based on Bose condensates in a shaken optical lattice. Shaking the lattice drives condensates across an effectively ferromagnetic quantum phase transition. After crossing the critical point, the condensates manifest delayed growth of spin fluctuations and develop antiferromagnetic spatial correlations resulting from the sub-Poisson distribution of the spacing between topological defects. The fluctuations and correlations are invariant in scaled space-time coordinates, in support of the scaling symmetry of quantum critical dynamics.

Direct observation of chiral currents and magnetic reflection in atomic flux lattices

The prospect of studying topological matter with the precision and control of atomic physics has driven the development of many techniques for engineering artificial magnetic fields and spin-orbit interactions. Recently, the idea of introducing nontrivial topology through the use of internal (or external) atomic states as effective "synthetic dimensions" has garnered attraction for its versatility and possible immunity from heating. We engineer tunable gauge fields through the local control of tunneling phases in an effective two-dimensional manifold of discrete atomic momentum states. We demonstrate the ability to create homogeneous gauge fields of arbitrary value, directly imaging the site-resolved dynamics of induced chiral currents. Furthermore, we engineer the first inhomogeneous artificial gauge fields for cold atoms, observing the magnetic reflection of atoms incident upon a step-like variation of an artificial vector potential. These results open new possibilities for the study of topological phases and localization phenomena in atomic gases.

Roton-maxon excitation spectrum of Bose condensates in a shaken optical lattice

We present experimental evidence showing that an interacting Bose condensate in a shaken optical lattice develops a roton-maxon excitation spectrum, a feature normally associated with superfluid helium. The roton-maxon feature originates from the double-well dispersion in the shaken lattice, and can be controlled by both the atomic interaction and the lattice modulation amplitude. We determine the excitation spectrum using Bragg spectroscopy and measure the critical velocity by dragging a weak speckle potential through the condensate-both techniques are based on a digital micromirror device. Our dispersion measurements are in good agreement with a modified Bogoliubov model.

Strong interaction effects and criticality of bosons in shaken optical lattices

We study the quantum phase transitions and identify a tricritical point between a normal Bose superfluid, a superfluid that breaks additional Z(2) Ising symmetry, and a Mott insulator in a recent shaken optical lattice experiment. We show that near the transition between normal and Z(2) symmetry breaking superfluids, bosons can condense into a momentum state with high or even locally maximum kinetic energies due to the interaction effect. We present a general low-energy effective field theory that treats both the superfluid transition and the Ising transition in a uniform framework. Using the perturbative renormalization group method, we find that the critical behavior of the quantum phase transition belongs to a universality class different from that of a dilute Bose gas.

Tuning the mobility of a driven Bose-Einstein condensate via diabatic Floquet bands

We study the response of ultracold atoms to a weak force in the presence of a temporally strongly modulated optical lattice potential. It is experimentally demonstrated that the strong ac driving allows for a tailoring of the mobility of a dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensate with the atoms moving ballistically either along or against the direction of the applied force. Our results are in agreement with a theoretical analysis of the Floquet spectrum of a model system, thus revealing the existence of diabatic Floquet bands in the atoms' band spectra and highlighting their role in the nonequilibrium transport of the atoms.

Periodic steady regime and interference in a periodically driven quantum system

We study the coherent dynamics of a quantum many-body system subject to a time-periodic driving. We argue that in many cases, destructive interference in time makes most of the quantum averages time periodic, after an initial transient. We discuss in detail the case of a quantum Ising chain periodically driven across the critical point, finding that, as a result of quantum coherence, the system never reaches an infinite temperature state. Floquet resonance effects are moreover observed in the frequency dependence of the various observables, which display a sequence of well-defined peaks or dips. Extensions to nonintegrable systems are discussed.

Stable periodic density waves in dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in optical lattices

Density-wave patterns in discrete media with local interactions are known to be unstable. We demonstrate that stable double- and triple-period patterns (DPPs and TPPs), with respect to the period of the underlying lattice, exist in media with nonlocal nonlinearity. This is shown in detail for dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates, loaded into a deep one-dimensional optical lattice. The DPP and TPP emerge via phase transitions of the second and first kind, respectively. The emerging patterns may be stable if the dipole-dipole interactions are repulsive and sufficiently strong, in comparison with the local repulsive nonlinearity. Within the set of the considered states, the TPPs realize a minimum of the free energy. A vast stability region for the TPPs is found in the parameter space, while the DPP stability region is relatively narrow. The same mechanism may create stable density-wave patterns in other physical media featuring nonlocal interactions.

Sub-poissonian number differences in four-wave mixing of matter waves

We demonstrate sub-Poissonian number differences in four-wave mixing of Bose-Einstein condensates of metastable helium. The collision between two Bose-Einstein condensates produces a scattering halo populated by pairs of atoms of opposing velocities, which we divide into several symmetric zones. We show that the atom number difference for opposing zones has sub-Poissonian noise fluctuations, whereas that of nonopposing zones is well described by shot noise. The atom pairs produced in a dual number state are well adapted to sub-shot-noise interferometry and studies of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type nonlocality tests.

Collinear four-wave mixing of two-component matter waves

We demonstrate atomic four-wave mixing of two-component matter waves in a collinear geometry. Starting from a single-species Bose-Einstein condensate, seed and pump modes are prepared through microwave state transfer and state-selective Kapitza-Dirac diffraction. Four-wave mixing then populates the initially empty output modes. Simulations based on a coupled-mode expansion of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation are in very good agreement with the experimental data. We show that four-wave mixing can play an important role in studies of bosonic mixtures in optical lattices. Moreover, our system should be of interest in the context of quantum atom optics.

Quantum enhancement of higher-order phononlike excitations of a Bose-Einstein condensate

In a Bose-Einstein condensate, the excitation of a Bogoliubov phonon with low momentum (e.g., by a two-photon Bragg process) is strongly suppressed due to destructive interference between two indistinguishable excitation pathways. Here we show that scattering of this sound excitation into a double-momentum mode is strongly enhanced due to constructive interference. This enhancement yields an inherent amplification of second-order sound excitations of the condensate, as we confirm experimentally. We further show that due to parity considerations, this effect is extended to higher-order excitations.

Observation of atom pairs in spontaneous four-wave mixing of two colliding Bose-Einstein condensates

We study atom scattering from two colliding Bose-Einstein condensates using a position sensitive, time resolved, single atom detector. In analogy to quantum optics, the process can also be thought of as spontaneous, degenerate four-wave mixing of de Broglie waves. We find a clear correlation between atoms with opposite momenta, demonstrating pair production in the scattering process. We also observe a Hanbury Brown-Twiss correlation for collinear momenta, which permits an independent measurement of the size of the pair production source and thus the size of the spatial mode. The back-to-back pairs occupy very nearly two oppositely directed spatial modes, a promising feature for future quantum optics experiments.

Parametric amplification of scattered atom pairs

We have observed parametric generation and amplification of ultracold atom pairs. A 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate was loaded into a one-dimensional optical lattice with quasimomentum k0 and spontaneously scattered into two final states with quasimomenta k1 and k2 . Furthermore, when a seed of atoms was first created with quasimomentum k1 we observed parametric amplification of scattered atoms pairs in states k1 and k2 when the phase-matching condition was fulfilled. This process is analogous to optical parametric generation and amplification of photons and could be used to efficiently create entangled pairs of atoms. Furthermore, these results explain the dynamic instability of condensates in moving lattices observed in recent experiments.