Preparation and detection of magnetic quantum phases in optical superlattices

Probing real-space and time-resolved correlation functions with many-body Ramsey interferometry

We propose to use Ramsey interferometry and single-site addressability, available in synthetic matter such as cold atoms or trapped ions, to measure real-space and time-resolved spin correlation functions. These correlation functions directly probe the excitations of the system, which makes it possible to characterize the underlying many-body states. Moreover, they contain valuable information about phase transitions where they exhibit scale invariance. We also discuss experimental imperfections and show that a spin-echo protocol can be used to cancel slow fluctuations in the magnetic field. We explicitly consider examples of the two-dimensional, antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model and the one-dimensional, long-range transverse field Ising model to illustrate the technique.

Exploring local quantum many-body relaxation by atoms in optical superlattices

We establish a setting-atoms in optical superlattices with period 2-in which one can experimentally probe signatures of the process of local relaxation and apparent thermalization in nonequilibrium dynamics without the need of addressing single sites. This opens up a way to explore the convergence of subsystems to maximum entropy states in quenched quantum many-body systems with present technology. Remarkably, the emergence of thermal states does not follow from a coupling to an environment but is a result of the complex nonequilibrium dynamics in closed systems. We explore ways of measuring the relevant signatures of thermalization in this analogue quantum simulation of a relaxation process, exploiting the possibilities offered by optical superlattices.