University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Ultracold fermionic atoms in disordered potentials

Kondov, Stanimir

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/46688

Description

Title
Ultracold fermionic atoms in disordered potentials
Author(s)
Kondov, Stanimir
Issue Date
2014-01-16T17:59:07Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
DeMarco, Brian L.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Kwiat, Paul G.
Committee Member(s)
  • DeMarco, Brian L.
  • Vishveshwara, Smitha
  • Cooper, S. Lance
Department of Study
Physics
Discipline
Physics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2014-01-16T17:59:07Z
Keyword(s)
  • ultracold
  • Fermion
  • potassium
  • Anderson
  • metal-to-insulator transition
  • Hubbard
Abstract
This thesis describes the construction of an experimental apparatus to study disorder physics using ultracold fermionic atomic gases. We use this apparatus to realize 3D Anderson localization for the first time for quantum matter waves. We provide the first measurement of how the mobility edge—a hallmark of 3-dimensionality—and of localization lengths depend on the disorder strength. In a second experimental study, we add an optical lattice to the disorder potential to realize the disordered Fermi-Hubbard model, which is a minimal model for strongly correlated electronic solids. The interplay of interactions and disorder is investigated. We find an Anderson-like disorder-driven metal-to-insulator transition as well as disorder-induced breaking of the Mott gap in the strongly interacting regime.
Graduation Semester
2013-12
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46688
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2013 Stanimir Kondov

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