ICAP 2012

This year the International Conference on Atomic Physics was hosted by École Polytechnique in Palaiseau near Paris, France.

Misha Lemeshko presented a poster "Dynamically engineering strongly-interacting phases in ultracold dipolar gases" [pdf], describing his recent work in collaboration with Hendrik Weimer and Roman Krems.

Building a crystal out of quantum bricks

Preparation of strongly interacting many-body phases starting from a weakly interacting quantum gas is known to be very challenging. It involves crossing a phase transition, where the energy gap protecting the ground state becomes vanishingly small for large systems. In a recent publication in Physical Review Letters, we report on a recipe to overcome this problem. In our work, we study the formation of dipolar spin crystals of ultracold polar molecules trapped in an optical lattice. We demonstrate that one can achieve a substantially better growth of the emergent spin crystal using non-adiabatic driving of rotational transitions.

Our proposed technique builds on the dipole blockade of microwave excitations. In the context of an effective spin-1/2 model, the dipole blockade allows to flip particular spins in an optical lattice without a need for single-site addressing. The growth of the spin crystal is started by a short sequence of microwave pulses that create a few flipped spins, serving as a nucleation center of the crystalline phase. After that, continuous microwave driving propagates the boundary of the crystal, adding one additional flipped spin after the other.

We investigate the dynamics under the continuous driving and demonstrate that the growth of the ordered domains is efficient. The analysis of the imperfections and the required experimental parameters shows that structures consisting of more than 1,000 spins can be grown. The average size of the resulting domains scales substantially more favorable compared to the conventional adiabatic preparation.





Reference: Mikhail Lemeshko, Roman V. Krems, and Hendrik Weimer,
"Nonadiabatic Preparation of Spin Crystals with Ultracold Polar Molecules",
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 035301 (2012).


About the authors: Misha Lemeshko and Hendrik Weimer are the ITAMP Postdoctoral Fellows at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Harvard Physics Department; Roman Krems is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

ITAMP 2012 DAMOP presentations (Orange County, California)

ITAMP 2012 DAMOP presentations (Orange County, California)

James Babb
10:30 AM-12:30 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Terrace
Abstract: N7.00006 : Long-range interactions between Mg atoms
11:30 AM–11:42 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171916

Johannes Feist
8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Garden 1-2
Abstract: G4.00005 : Nanoplasmonic light field synthesis for isolated attosecond pulse generation

9:24 AM–9:36 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171477

Johannes Feist
4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: K1.00021 : Attosecond streaking of correlated two-electron transitions
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171658

Adam Kirrander
4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: D1.00037 : Quantum dynamics in strong fields with Fermion Coupled Coherent States
 http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171332

Adam Kirrander
8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: M6.00007 : Theoretical Dynamics of Heavy Rydberg States in Rb$_2$
9:12 AM–9:24 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171850

Adam Kirrander
4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: Q1.00009 : X-ray diffraction assisted spectroscopy of Rydberg states
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171991



Mikhail Lemeshko
2:00 PM–4:00 PM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Garden 3
Abstract: J5.00004 : Molecular interactions in and with fields: thermal collisions, ultracold gases, supersymmetry
3:30 PM–4:00 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171614

 Guin-Dar Lin
2:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Abstract: C2.00010 : Cooling of particle ensembles with cooperative effects
3:48 PM–4:00 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171260

 
Jerome Loreau
8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Friday, June 8, 2012
Room: Garden 1-2
Abstract: T4.00007 : Non-reactive collisions of sodium and silver atoms with nitrogen molecules

9:12 AM–9:24 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/172175
 
Charles Mathy
2:00 PM–4:00 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 1-2
Abstract: P4.00005 : Quantum flutter of supersonic particles in one-dimensional quantum liquids

2:48 PM–3:00 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171944

Roberto Onofrio 
10:30 AM–12:30 PM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom E
Abstract: H3.00004 : Angular momentum changing transitions in proton-Rydberg hydrogen atom collisions

11:06 AM–11:18 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171529

Seth Rittenhouse
4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: D1.00122 : Theoretical and Experimental evidence for the observation of trilobite states in Cs
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171417

Seth Rittenhouse
 8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: M6.00005 : Homonuclear cesium Rydberg molecules
8:48 AM–9:00 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171848

Seth Rittenhouse
 10:30 AM–12:30 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Abstract: N2.00003 : First order SF-MI transition in the Bose-Hubbard model with tunable three-body onsite interaction
10:54 AM–11:06 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171859

H.R. Sadeghpour
0:30 AM–12:30 PM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom E
Abstract: H3.00004 : Angular momentum changing transitions in proton-Rydberg hydrogen atom collisions
11:06 AM–11:18 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171529

H.R. Sadeghpour
 8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: M6.00007 : Theoretical Dynamics of Heavy Rydberg States in Rb$_2$
9:12 AM–9:24 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171850


H.R. Sadeghpour
 2:00 PM–3:48 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: P6.00009 : An ab-initio model of anomalous heating in planar ion traps
3:36 PM–3:48 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171970

H.R. Sadeghpour
 8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: M6.00005 : Homonuclear cesium Rydberg molecules
8:48 AM–9:00 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171848

H.R. Sadeghpour
 2:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Terrace
Abstract: C7.00004 : Rydberg atom mediated polar molecule interactions
3:30 PM–4:00 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171294

H.R. Sadeghpour
 4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: D1.00122 : Theoretical and Experimental evidence for the observation of trilobite states in Cs
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171417


Arghavan Safavi-Naini
 10:30 AM–12:30 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Abstract: N2.00003 : First order SF-MI transition in the Bose-Hubbard model with tunable three-body onsite interaction
10:54 AM–11:06 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171859

Arghavan Safavi-Naini
 2:00 PM–3:48 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Garden 4
Abstract: P6.00009 : An ab-initio model of anomalous heating in planar ion traps
3:36 PM–3:48 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171970


Hendrik Weimer
8:00 AM–10:00 AM, Friday, June 8, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Abstract: T2.00006 : Supersymmetry in Rydberg-dressed lattice fermions
9:00 AM–9:12 AM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/172156

 Susanne Yelin
2:00 PM–4:00 PM, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Abstract: C2.00010 : Cooling of particle ensembles with cooperative effects
3:48 PM–4:00 PM
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171260

Susanne Yelin
 4:00 PM–4:00 PM, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Room: Royal Ballroom
Abstract: K1.00066 : Theory of laser cooling of nuclear spins based on coherent population trapping
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP12/Event/171703


 



  

ITAMP Talks at the DPG Spring Meeting (Stuttgart, Germany)

Demler, Eugene
SYRA 2.4 Supersymmetry in Rydberg-dressed lattice fermions

Laumann, Chris
Q 19.1 Long-range quantum gates for nitrogen-vacancy defect centers in diamond

Lukin, Mikhail
Q 7.7 Robustness of Topological Operations with Ultracold Atoms
Q 19.1 Long-range quantum gates for nitrogen-vacancy defect centers in diamond
SYRA 1.4 Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in Strongly Interacting Rydberg Gases
SYRA 2.4 Supersymmetry in Rydberg-dressed lattice fermions

Rittenhouse, Seth
SYRA 2.3 Electric field impact on ultra-long-range triatomic polar Rydberg molecules

Sadeghpour, Hossein
Q 62.1 A homonuclear polar molecule
SYRA 2.3 Electric field impact on ultra-long-range triatomic polar Rydberg molecules

Weimer, Hendrik
Q 19.1 Long-range quantum gates for nitrogen-vacancy defect centers in diamond
SYRA 2.4 Supersymmetry in Rydberg-dressed lattice fermions

ITAMP Talks APS March March 2012

	Aspuru-Guzik, Alan V28.00004 Nonradiative lifetimes in intermediate band materials -- absence of lifetime recovery L35.00010 The derivative discontinuity in density functional theory from an electrostatic description of the exchange and correlation potential V48.00012 Accessing exciton transport in light-harvesting structures with plasmonic nanotip V34.00010 How much information do ultrafast spectra contain? The case for ultrafast quantum process tomography T30.00006 Algorithmic Quantum Cooling J34.00003 2-Dimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Determining the Temperature-Dependent Conformations of Porphyrin Dimers and Nucleic Acids L36.00002 Study of excitonic energy transport in thin-film J-aggregates W41.00002 Absence of quantum oscillations in electronic excitation transfer in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex J30.00005 Quantum simulator of an open quantum system using superconducting qubits: exciton transport in photosynthetic complexes J34.00002 Conformation of self-assembled porphyrin dimers in liposome vesicles by phase-modulation 2D fluorescence spectroscopy X17.00004 Plasmonic nanotips for spectroscopy with nanometer-scale resolution W35.00009 Applying state-of-the-art signal processing to time-dependent density functional theory B7.00002 The Harvard Clean Energy Project: High-throughput screening of organic photovoltaic materials using cheminformatics, machine learning, and pattern recognition B7.00001 The Harvard Clean Energy Project: High-throughput screening of organic photovoltaic materials using first-principles electronic structure theory V35.00004 Time-dependent density functional theory for open quantum systems Cappellaro, Paola K1.00260 Composite-pulse magnetometry in the solid-state K1.00308 Perfect mixed state quantum transport in correlated spin networks Demler, Eugene J4.00001 Non Equilibrium Quantum Criticality: an intuitive approach Z4.00003 Collective mode of an impurity and a Tonks-Girardeau gas D4.00010 Clustering of cold polar molecules in arrays of one-dimensional tubes V4.00001 Doublon production rate by optical lattice modulation for strongly correlated Fermionic atoms D4.00007 Tunable Superfluidity with Ultracold Polar Molecules on quasi-1D Optical Lattices J4.00003 Stability of Counterflow Superfluidity A32.00015 Photo-induced quantum Hall insulators without Landau levels D4.00006 Quantum Magnetism with Polar Molecules: Tunable Generalized $t$-$J$ Model A8.00011 Emergence and lifting of frustration for dipolar molecules Feist, Johannes  D10.00005 Accessing correlated electron motion on the attosecond timescale V48.00012 Accessing exciton transport in light-harvesting structures with plasmonic nanotip X17.00004 Plasmonic nanotips for spectroscopy with nanometer-scale resolution V4.00013 A Quantum Plasmonic Circuit for Cold Atoms A4.00003 A nanoscale quantum interface for single atoms Laumann, Chris  K1.00283 Topologically Protected Quantum State Transfer in a Chiral Spin Liquid D29.00009 Long-range quantum gates using dipolar crystals  T24.00005 Microscopic Disorder-Based model for non-Abelian Quasi-Particles in $\nu=5/2$ FQH states

Lemeshko, Mikhail
K1.00334 Sensitive imaging of electromagnetic fields with cold polar molecules

Lukin, Mikhail 
D4.00007 Tunable Superfluidity with Ultracold Polar Molecules on quasi-1D Optical Lattices
A30.00010 Towards Probing Living Cell Function with NV Centers in Nanodiamonds
D4.00003 Altering Photon Statistics using Strong Rydberg Interactions
D4.00002 Towards single-photon optical nonlinearities using cold Rydberg atoms
D4.00006 Quantum Magnetism with Polar Molecules: Tunable Generalized $t$-$J$ Model
A30.00006 Decoherence imaging of spin ensembles by a scannable single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond
V48.00012 Accessing exciton transport in light-harvesting structures with plasmonic nanotip
A4.00003 A nanoscale quantum interface for single atoms
A4.00001 A Light-Matter Interface with NV Centers
V4.00013 A Quantum Plasmonic Circuit for Cold Atoms
A4.00002 Probing the motion of a mechanical resonator via coherent coupling to a single spin qubit
D29.00007 Room temperature solid-state quantum bit with second-long memory
D29.00005 Optimizing the resolution and the sensitivity of a scanning NV magnetometer
D29.00003 Quantum interference of single photons from two remote Nitrogen-Vacancy centers in diamond
D29.00010 Magnetic imaging of a single electron spin using a scanning NV magnetometer under ambient conditions
X17.00004 Plasmonic nanotips for spectroscopy with nanometer-scale resolution
W41.00003 Progress Towards Room-Temperature Electron Spin Detection in Biological Systems
D29.00013 Spectroscopy of composite solid-state spin environments for improved metrology with spin ensembles
B4.00005 Coupling a single spin in diamond to the quantum motion of a mechanical cantilever
L10.00003 Quantum optics with solid-state atom-like systems
A30.00005 Cooling Nuclear Spins in Diamond via Dark State Spectroscopy
A30.00003 Quantum Optics with Spins and Photons in Diamond

Mathy, Charles
Z4.00003 Collective mode of an impurity and a Tonks-Girardeau gas

Onofrio, Roberto
B1.00002 Four techniques to achieve deeper Fermi degeneracy in Fermi-Bose mixtures
B1.00003 Optimized sympathetic cooling of atomic mixtures via fast adiabatic strategies

Rittenhouse, Seth
D4.00011 A dielectric superfluid of polar molecules

Safavi-Naini
A. A4.00010 An ab-initio microscopic theory of anomalous heating in planar ion traps
D4.00013 Paired Phases of Dipoles in a Bilayer System

Sadeghpour, H.R. 
A4.00010 An ab-initio microscopic theory of anomalous heating in planar ion traps
D4.00013 Paired Phases of Dipoles in a Bilayer System

Weimer, Hendrik
K1.00283 Topologically Protected Quantum State Transfer in a Chiral Spin Liquid

Yelin, Susanne
A30.00005 Cooling Nuclear Spins in Diamond via Dark State Spectroscopy

ITAMP/B2 Winter Graduate School on AMO Physics, Jan 8-20, 2012

The 1st morning session of the school went quite well. There were talks by Jun Ye (JILA) on control of light; how ultrafast laser pulses could be used to produce ultrastable frequency combs, and how different frequency scales, from UVU could be referenced to IR, a preview for his 2nd lecture tomorrow on controlling atomic matter with light. The 2nd talk was given by Pierre Meystre (replacing Mette Gaarde who could not be here) on cooling of optomechanical systems. This emerging subject of inquiry in AMO sciences has mushroomed over the last few years b/c a number of groups have succeeded in bringing the center of mass motion of nearly macroscopic objects to the quantum ground level. Pierre described what could be investigated with ground state objects, ala beyond ground state cooling.

The afternoon talks are now being given by Ivan Deutsch (UNM) and Han Pu (Rice). Han is giving a rigorous account of theory of laser cooling.

The students appear enthusiastic and engage the faculty with questions. The settings are beautiful- the mornings are quite and a bit chilly, and warming day hours which follow. The accommodations are first rate and comfortable.