Novel Phases of Confined Cold Atomic Gases

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For many years, cold atomic physics experiments have pursued the detection and study of correlated phases of matter, analogous to those in condensed matter systems. To develop future technology and better understand nature, it is essential to discern and control the behavior of matter and light on the smallest length scales. In this quantum realm, the collective properties of atoms are often counterintuitive, as seen in recent experiments that have studied gases of atoms at ultracold temperatures, confined by exquisitely controllable traps made of light. This theoretical work will develop new predictions for the possible collective states of matter of trapped cold atomic gases, which can shed light on interesting emergent phenomena such as superfluidity and magnetism. The PI has a strong history of training undergraduate and graduate students, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented groups, in the exciting field of correlated cold atomic gases. The proposed work continues this research training and also includes concrete ideas for improving undergraduate education at LSU.The theoretical research team at LSU will study the implications of the most exciting recent experimental developments, including the realization of novel trapping potentials that have the form of a "box" shape, instead of the slowly varying harmonic potential in earlier cold atom experiments. These box-shaped traps, which are analogous to nanoscale electronic materials, allow the study of the effect of confinement and geometry on collective quantum properties such as superfluidity. The team will also study the behavior of atoms in optical potentials that realize the Kagome and Lieb lattices. Atom motion in such lattices exhibits the phenomenon of frustration, where competing effects can lead to unusual phases of matter. A third research direction for the team concerns the possibility of a cold-atom realization of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, which connects non-Fermi liquid behavior of fermions to the physics of black holes.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.