Quantum simulators built from ultracold atoms promise to study quantum phenomena in interacting many-body systems. However, it remains a challenge to experimentally prepare strongly correlated continuous systems such that the properties are dominated by quantum fluctuations. Here, we show how to enhance the quantum correlations in a one-dimensional multimode bosonic Josephson junction, which is a quantum simulator of the sine-Gordon field theory. Our approach is based on the ability to track the nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum properties. After creating a bosonic Josephson junction at the stable fixed point of the classical phase space, we observe squeezing oscillations in the two conjugate variables. We show that the squeezing oscillation frequency can be tuned by more than one order of magnitude, and we are able to achieve a spin squeezing close to 10 dB by utilizing these oscillatory dynamics. The impact of improved spin squeezing is directly revealed by detecting enhanced spatial phase correlations between decoupled condensates. Our work provides new ways for engineering correlations and entanglement in the external degree of freedom of interacting many-body systems. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Quantum simulators built from ultracold atoms promise to study quantum phenomena in interacting many-body systems. However, it remains a challenge to experimentally prepare strongly correlated continuous systems such that the properties are dominated by quantum fluctuations. Here, we show how to enhance the quantum correlations in a one-dimensional multimode bosonic Josephson junction, which is a quantum simulator of the sine-Gordon field theory. Our approach is based on the ability to track the nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum properties. After creating a bosonic Josephson junction at the stable fixed point of the classical phase space, we observe squeezing oscillations in the two conjugate variables. We show that the squeezing oscillation frequency can be tuned by more than one order of magnitude, and we are able to achieve a spin squeezing close to 10 dB by utilizing these oscillatory dynamics. The impact of improved spin squeezing is directly revealed by detecting enhanced spatial phase correlations between decoupled condensates. Our work provides new ways for engineering correlations and entanglement in the external degree of freedom of interacting many-body systems. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We report on the observation of many-body spin dynamics of interacting, one-dimensional (1D) ultracold bosonic gases with two spin states. By controlling the nonlinear atomic interactions close to a Feshbach resonance we are able to induce a phase diffusive many-body spin dynamics of the relative phase between the two components. We monitor this dynamical evolution by Ramsey interferometry, supplemented by a novel, many-body echo technique, which unveils the role of quantum fluctuations in 1D. We find that the time evolution of the system is well described by a Luttinger liquid initially prepared in a multimode squeezed state. Our approach allows us to probe the nonequilibrium evolution of one-dimensional many-body quantum systems.
We study the mass exchange between two rotating, quantum massive vortices in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate. The vortices, in the majority component, exhibit a filled core, where the in-filling minority component undergoes a quantum tunneling effect. Remarkably, we observe that the two-vortex system features stable Josephson oscillations, as well as all the nonlinear phenomena, including the macroscopic quantum self-trapping, that characterize a Bosonic Josephson Junction. We propose an analytical model for describing the intervortex tunneling, obtained by implementing the coherent-state representation of the two-mode Bose-Hubbard model. This allows us to give the explicit expression of the model's parameters in terms of the physical macroscopic parameters of the two-vortex system. The comparison of the dynamical scenario predicted by the model with that emerging from the Gross–Pitaevskii equations is very good for sufficiently small atom numbers, while at larger atom numbers it grows less precise, presumably due to the partial exclusion of the many-body interactions from our model. The definition of an effective self-interaction parameter allows us to include the many-body effects, thus restoring a quite good agreement with the numerical results. Interestingly, the recognition of the bosonic Josephson dynamics paves the way to the investigation of new dynamical behaviors in multivortex configurations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Quantum fluctuations are an important feature of isolated systems at low temperatures. This quantum noise is unavoidable due to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. However, squeezed states can lower the quantum noise in one of a pair of variables at the expense of increasing it in the other variable. This ability to reduce quantum fluctuations makes squeezed states very promising in high-precision measurements. This thesis studies the quantum fluctuation properties of two condensed matter systems: phonons and Josephson junctions. In particular, we theoretically investigate several approaches for the generation and detection of squeezed states in these systems. We study for the first time coherent and squeezed quantum states of phonons, in analogy to the coherent and squeezed states of photons. We introduce and study a lattice amplitude operator, which is the phonon analog of the electric field. Our work provides a clear link between quantum mechanical phonon coherent states and the experimentally observed coherent phonons--typically described in classical terms. We then study phonon squeezed states, which can modulate the quantum fluctuations of atomic displacements below the zero-point quantum noise level. We explore the possibility of generating squeezed phonon states with a variety of different approaches, such as a phonon parametric down-conversion process and a polariton-based mechanism. Furthermore, we propose a possible detection scheme based on reflectivity measurements. We also study quantum fluctuation properties of superconducting Josephson junctions, which have the nonlinear interactions necessary for modulating quantum noise. We obtain approximate ground and excited states, and calculate the variances of the charge and phase in various circuit configurations. This thesis provides a first systematic study of quantum noise and its suppression in condensed matter systems. It also proposes different directions for future studies in the control of quantum noise in solids.
Understanding how coherent quantum dynamics give way to correlation-dominated behavior in low-dimensional systems remains a central challenge in quantum many-body physics. Here, we investigate a one-dimensional Bose-Josephson junction confined in a box trap using the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons (MCTDHB). By varying the interaction strength and initial population imbalance, we identify distinct dynamical regimes governed by the competition between coherence and correlation-induced fragmentation. Weak interactions support coherent Josephson oscillations, whereas increasing imbalance leads to damping. At intermediate interaction strength, varying only the initial imbalance induces a crossover from nearly pure coherent oscillations to many-body dephasing with collapse-and-revival dynamics, and ultimately to equilibration accompanied by strong fragmentation and the saturation of many-body observables. In the strongly interacting regime, the system enters a dynamical freezing regime characterized by pronounced fragmentation, well-separated particle-resolved density peaks, and strongly suppressed tunneling. A systematic comparison with the Bose-Hubbard model reveals excellent agreement in the weakly interacting regime, while progressively larger deviations emerge as higher-orbital occupations beyond the two-mode approximation become significant. These results provide a unified picture of the emergence and competition of coherence, many-body dephasing, equilibration, and dynamical freezing, while delineating the regime of validity of the Bose-Hubbard description.
We investigate the collective dynamics of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates in a double well potential. By taking into account the Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction from quantum fluctuation, we find that the LHY term, though much smaller than the mean field interactions, can significantly change the coherent oscillating behaviors of the bosonic Josephson junction in the regime of g12≃−g11g22 . Besides the quantitative renormalization to the plasma frequencies of the Josephson oscillations, a series of unexpected nonzero fixed points beyond mean field emerges in the stationary state. More remarkably, unique macroscopic self-trapping states, which are usually absent in the mean field dynamics, can be sustained by the LHY nonlinearity. Our results reveal the nontrivial LHY effect on the Josephson dynamics, which can be tested in the current experiment. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
In this work the dynamical behavior of an internal bosonic Josephson junction is investigated. The junction is realized using two Zeeman sub states of the ground state hyperfine manifold in a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87 Rb . With several hundreds of atoms, the size of the system is at the crossover where its classical description breaks down and quantum mechanical effects become important. The system allows for a high level of control in terms of state preparation, readout and its important parameters. Thus its classical dynamics, which show a striking bifurcating behavior, can be studied by mapping out the full phase space and revealing its topological change. Furthermore the dynamics at the unstable classical fixed point arising in the course of the bifurcation are investigated. The dynamics at this point clearly show the breakdown of the classical description. The dynamical evolution leads to spin squeezing and entanglement and subsequently to macroscopic superposition states. The generation of squeezing is quantitatively analyzed and the generated states are reconstructed in terms of their Wigner functions by tomography. This work is an important step for the understanding of highly entangled macroscopic quantum states.