Antiferromagnetism with Ultracold Atoms (Prof. R. Hulet)
- Date: May 18, 2015
- Time: 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Professor Dr. Randall G. Hulet, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University Houston, Texas, USA
- Room: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
- Host: MPQ
Progress, however, has been stymied by an inability to cool to
sufficiently low temperatures. In this talk, I will present our
experimental results on the characterization of the three-dimensional
Hubbard model near half-filling, realized using two spin-states of
fermionic atomic lithium (6Li). We have developed a compensated optical
lattice that has enabled, for the first time, the achievement of
temperatures that are below the tunneling energy in the lattice, t. For
strong interactions we observe the emergence of a density plateau and a
reduction of the compressibility, indicative of the formation of a Mott
insulator. The Hubbard model is known to exhibit antiferromagnetism at
temperatures below the Néel temperature TN. We have detected
antiferromagnetic correlations by spin-sensitive Bragg scattering of
light. With improved cooling, it may be possible to resolve the open
question of whether the Hubbard model contains the necessary ingredients
to describe high-temperature superconductivity.