Cooper, Nigel

Friday November 25, 2011
Time: 11:00
Place: HPF G 6
Host: Tilman Esslinger

Optical Flux Lattices for Ultracold Atomic Gases

Nigel Cooper
University of Cambridge, UK

One of the most important techniques in the ultracold atom toolbox is the optical lattice: a periodic scalar potential formed from standing waves of light. Optical lattices are central to the use of atomic gases as quantum simulators, and allow the exploration of strong-correlation phenomena related to condensed matter systems. In this talk, I shall describe how simple laser configurations can give rise to a new kind of optical lattice - a so-called "optical flux lattice'' - in which optically dressed atoms experience a periodic effective magnetic flux with high mean density. Optical flux lattices have narrow energy bands with nonzero Chern numbers, analogous to the Landau levels of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field. These lattices will greatly facilitate the achievement of the quantum Hall regime for ultracold atomic gases.