| Main contact : | Bruno Laburthe-Tolra |  |
| Other contacts : | Laurent Vernac | |
| Martin Robert de Saint Vincent | | |
| Paolo Pedri | |
Research activities:
We study ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices. In our first (chromium) experiment, atoms in different lattice sites interact through spin-dependent long-range dipole-dipole interactions. In our second (strontium) experiment, intersite interactions are provided by spin-independent super-exchange interactions. These two complementary projects investigate how interactions of different natures impact quantum many-body physics and the magnetic properties of an ensemble of strongly interacting large spin (S>1/2) particles.
The Chromium Lab:
In recent years, we performed various experiments studying the impact of dipole-dipole interactions on condensates made of spin-3 chromium atoms, with a special interest into the properties of spinor quantum gases. In particular, we have studied spin dynamics due to long-range dipole-dipole interactions after the atoms are loaded in each site of a 3D optical lattice. Spin dynamics is inherently many-body, as each atom is coupled to its many neighbors. We specifically study in which conditions the spin dynamics can be seen as classical, and in which conditions quantum correlations arrise.
The Strontium Lab:
On the strontium experiment, our objectives comprise the production of a degenerate Fermi gas of 87 Sr atoms, the reduction of the system entropy through innovative techniques, the use of the narrow lines of Sr to probe the system properties with an unprecedented precision (in collaboration with the metrology group of our institute) and the creation of exotic magnetic materials. We are currently building the Strontium machine.
The Theoretical Lab:
Our experiments are performed in close collaboration with theory (numerical simulation of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation including long-range dipolar interactions and the spin degrees of freedom; exact diagonalization).
For more details: see online GQD @ LPL