Spinor self-ordering of a quantum gas in a cavity
Date
19/10/2018Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We observe the joint spin-spatial (spinor) self-organization of a two-component BEC strongly coupled to an optical cavity. This unusual nonequilibrium Hepp-Lieb-Dicke phase transition is driven by an off-resonant two-photon Raman transition formed from a classical pump field and the emergent quantum dynamical cavity field. This mediates a spinor-spinor interaction that, above a critical strength, simultaneously organizes opposite spinor states of the BEC on opposite checkerboard configurations of an emergent 2D lattice. The resulting spinor density-wave polariton condensate is observed by directly detecting the atomic spin and momentum state and by holographically reconstructing the phase of the emitted cavity field. The latter provides a direct measure of the spin state, and a spin-spatial domain wall is observed. The photon-mediated spin interactions demonstrated here may be engineered to create dynamical gauge fields and quantum spin glasses.
Citation
Kroeze , R M , Guo , Y , Vaidya , V D , Keeling , J & Lev , B L 2018 , ' Spinor self-ordering of a quantum gas in a cavity ' , Physical Review Letters , vol. 121 , no. 16 , 163601 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.163601
Publication
Physical Review Letters
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0031-9007Type
Journal article
Description
Funding: J. K. acknowledges support from SU2P.Collections
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