Novel Quantum Phase Transitions and Non-Equilibrium Dynamics in Lattice-Confined Spinor Condensates

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This project is targeted towards applying a sodium spinor Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) to study the interplay and applications of superfluidity, strong correlations, and quantum magnetism. BECs are ultra-cold gases in which all atoms have a single collective wavefunction for their spatial degrees of freedom. With an additional spin degree of freedom, these BECs constitute a fascinating collective quantum system offering an unprecedented degree of control over such parameters as spin, density, temperature, and the dimensionality of the system. The aims of this project are both of fundamental interest for advancing our understanding of quantum physics, and of technological significance. Beyond these specific research goals, this project provides opportunities to integrate research and teaching by involving undergraduate and graduate students in research projects. The principal investigator (PI) will endeavor to broaden the participation of under-represented groups, including Native American students, women in physics, and potential "first-generation" college students. The PI will organize workshops for local high school teachers and their students to get hands-on experience with state-of-the-art laser cooling techniques, and to develop physics projects matched to the students' level. This project will enhance the infrastructure for science education in the region and encourage more students to pursue a career in science.This project will perform important studies on an antiferromagnetic sodium spinor BEC confined in three-dimensional optical lattices and microwave dressing fields, i.e., investigate the dynamics of first-order superfluid to Mott-insulator quantum phase transitions, reveal a quantum-phase-revival spectroscopy driven by a competition between spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions, precisely determine various scattering lengths of spinor gases, and demonstrate an experimental signature of spin-dependent three-body interactions. Advantages provided by a bichromatic optical super-lattice will also be explored.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.