Birth, life, and death of a dipolar supersolid

by M. Sohmen, C. Politi, L. Klaus, L. Chomaz, M. J. Mark, M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino
Abstract:
In the short time since the first observation of supersolid states of ultracold dipolar atoms, substantial progress has been made in understanding the zero-temperature phase diagram and low-energy excitations of these systems. Less is known, however, about their finite-temperature properties, particularly relevant for supersolids formed by cooling through direct evaporation. Here, we explore this realm by characterizing the evaporative formation and subsequent decay of a dipolar supersolid by combining high-resolution in-trap imaging with time-of-flight observables. As our atomic system cools towards quantum degeneracy, it first undergoes a transition from thermal gas to a crystalline state with the appearance of periodic density modulation. This is followed by a transition to a supersolid state with the emergence of long-range phase coherence. Further, we explore the role of temperature in the development of the modulated state.
Reference:
Birth, life, and death of a dipolar supersolid,
M. Sohmen, C. Politi, L. Klaus, L. Chomaz, M. J. Mark, M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino,
Phys. Rev. Lett., 126, 233401, 2021.
Bibtex Entry:
@Article{sohmen2021birth,

  author={M. Sohmen and C. Politi and L. Klaus and L. Chomaz and M. J. Mark and M. A. Norcia and F. Ferlaino},

  title={Birth, life, and death of a dipolar supersolid}, 

  abstract={In the short time since the first observation of supersolid states of ultracold dipolar atoms, substantial progress has been made in understanding the zero-temperature phase diagram and low-energy excitations of these systems. Less is known, however, about their finite-temperature properties, particularly relevant for supersolids formed by cooling through direct evaporation. Here, we explore this realm by characterizing the evaporative formation and subsequent decay of a dipolar supersolid by combining high-resolution in-trap imaging with time-of-flight observables. As our atomic system cools towards quantum degeneracy, it first undergoes a transition from thermal gas to a crystalline state with the appearance of periodic density modulation. This is followed by a transition to a supersolid state with the emergence of long-range phase coherence. Further, we explore the role of temperature in the development of the modulated state.},

  eprint={2101.06975},

  archivePrefix={arXiv:2101.06975},

  arXiv = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.06975},

  primaryClass={cond-mat.quant-gas},

  journal = {Phys. Rev. Lett.},

  volume = {126},

  issue = {23},

  pages = {233401},

  numpages = {6},

  year = {2021},

  month = {Jun},

  publisher = {American Physical Society},

  doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.233401},

  url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.233401}

}