Relaxation of interacting Stark-localized states in a thermal lattice Bose gas

Wadleigh, Laura Rose

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121498 Copy

Description

Title

Relaxation of interacting Stark-localized states in a thermal lattice Bose gas

Author(s)

Wadleigh, Laura Rose

Issue Date

2023-07-12

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

DeMarco, Brian

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Gadway, Bryce

Committee Member(s)

• Lorenz, Virginia
• Wagner, Lucas

Department of Study

Physics

Discipline

Physics

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• quantum physics
• localization
• atomic physics
• lattice gas

Abstract

Localization in interacting quantum lattice gas systems is an active area of research. In this work, we study the dynamics of Stark-localized states in a thermal lattice Bose gas. We use a barrier beam to exclude atoms from the center of an atomic gas trapped in a harmonic potential. A three-dimensional optical lattice potential is added, creating Stark-localized states away from the center of the trap, where the gradient of the harmonic potential is large compared to the lattice bandwidth. We remove the barrier beam and observe the dynamics over hundreds of tunneling times. Using a new statistical measure, Mardia's B, we observe that the gas reaches thermal equilibrium after hundreds of tunneling times, even at high lattice depths where the gas is nearly completely Stark localized. We rule out many possible sources of relaxation, including scattering of lattice light. We conclude that physics beyond the Bose-Hubbard model may be needed to explain the long-time dynamics of interacting quantum lattice gas systems.

Graduation Semester

2023-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Laura Wadleigh

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