Tue March 25, 2025 4:00 pm
CUA Seminar: Selim Jochim – Manipulating and probing quantum states of few fermionic atoms
Location:MIT 4-270
Selim Jochim,
University of Heidelberg
Starting from a highly degenerate Fermi gas of atoms, we distill quantum states of few atoms by exquisite control of the number of bound states in an optical tweezer potential. In this way we obtain close to pure quantum states of up to 42 atoms.
While such systems have a lot of similarities with the electrons in an atom, or nucleons in a nucleus, the tunability of geometry and interactions, combined with versatile manipulation and detection capabilities offer unprecedented insights. For example, measuring all momenta or positions of the atoms in a spin resolved way allows us to determine correlations, such as those that define Cooper pairs. By introducing a subtle rotation of the trap potential we control correlated angular momentum states.
With the experience gained in our existing experimental setups we have designed a new modular platform that allows to quickly exchange individual modules. Each module can be characterized and validated offline on a test bench. We will report our first experience with this new setup.