Dy-Yt LAB

We are currently designing and building a new experimental apparatus to study many-body phases of highly-magnetic dysprosium and of mixtures with non-magnetic ytterbium.

This project is a collaboration of the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) in San Sebastian/Donostia (Spain), the Institute of Experimental Physics of the University of Innsbruck and the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck.

Using our strong experience from the ERBIUM, Er-Dy and T-Reqs experiments, we will set up a new apparatus exploiting the possibility of ultrafast free-space imaging below micrometer resolution as well as local manipulation using optical tweezers and spatial light modulators.

Lanthanide atoms with their multi-electron shell configuration have very peculiar properties, like many stable isotopes and a rich optical spectrum. Interestingly, while some species like dysprosium host very high magnetic dipole moments, others like ytterbium are essentially non-magnetic. We will mix these two species at the edges of the dipolar strengths scale to study their interplay and the resulting many-body phases emerging. We will use a high-numerical aperture objective to enable the local manipulation and detection of the ultracold atoms.

Interested in joining us? Check out our open Post Doc position in Donostia here.