by M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino
Abstract:
Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with a partially filled shell of f orbitals. This leads to a set of characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.
Reference:
Developments in atomic control using ultracold magnetic lanthanides,
M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino,
Nature Physics, 17, 1349, 2021.
M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino,
Nature Physics, 17, 1349, 2021.
Bibtex Entry:
@article{norcia2021developments,
title = {Developments in atomic control using ultracold magnetic lanthanides},
author = {M. A. Norcia and F. Ferlaino},
year = {2021},
month = {Nov},
abstract = {Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with
a partially filled shell of f orbitals. This leads to a set of
characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold
atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions
with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic
interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large
magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These
features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser
cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal
dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion
relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum
fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe
how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key
features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of
experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.},
eprint = {2108.04491},
archivePrefix = {arXiv:2108.04491},
journal = {Nature Physics},
volume = {17},
pages = {1349},
primaryClass={cond-mat.quant-gas},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01398-7},
arXiv = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.04491},
doi = {10.1038/s41567-021-01398-7},
}