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

该项目旨在应用钠旋量玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体（BEC）来研究超流体、强相关和量子磁性的相互作用和应用。BECs是一种超冷气体，其中所有原子的空间自由度都有一个单一的集体波函数。加上额外的自旋自由度，这些bec构成了一个迷人的集体量子系统，对自旋、密度、温度和系统维度等参数提供了前所未有的控制程度。这个项目的目的是促进我们对量子物理学的理解的根本兴趣，以及技术意义。除了这些具体的研究目标之外，该项目还通过让本科生和研究生参与研究项目，提供了整合研究和教学的机会。首席研究员（PI）将努力扩大代表性不足的群体的参与，包括美国土著学生、物理学女性和潜在的“第一代”大学生。PI将为当地高中教师和学生组织讲习班，让他们亲身体验最先进的激光冷却技术，并开发与学生水平相匹配的物理项目。该项目将加强该地区的科学教育基础设施，鼓励更多的学生从事科学事业。本项目将在三维光学晶格和微波处理场中对反铁磁钠自旋子BEC进行重要研究，即研究一阶超流体到莫特绝缘体的量子相变动力学，揭示自旋依赖和自旋独立相互作用竞争驱动的量子相位恢复光谱，精确确定自旋子气体的各种散射长度。并证明了依赖自旋的三体相互作用的实验特征。本文还将探讨双色光学超晶格的优点。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.