Probing the SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model with ytterbium atoms in an optical lattice
Christian Hofrichter
This thesis reports on the experimental realization of the 3D SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model and the direct probing of the equation of state with an ultracold quantum gas of fermionic ytterbium in an optical lattice. Ultracold atoms in optical lattices constitute a flexible and highly tunable system to investigate Hamiltonians of condensed matter physics such as the Hubbard model. In particular, ytterbium atoms are ideal candidates for the realization of the Fermi-Hubbard model with SU(N)-symmetry due to a high decoupling of the nuclear spin from the electronic configuration. As a consequence of this enlarged symmetry, thermodynamic properties of the atomic sample depend on N, the number of spin components in the quantum gas, and novel, exotic phases are predicted to emerge at low temperatures. By locally probing a quantum gas of 173Yb in a 3D optical lattice, we determine the equation of state of the SU(6) and SU(3) Fermi-Hubbard model. The measurement of the equation of state allows us to obtain direct, model-independent access to the thermodynamic quantities of the lattice gas. In this way, we can characterize the crossover from a Fermi liquid to an SU(N) Mott insulator when tuning the interaction strength, and can probe the compressibility of the quantum gas in different interaction regimes. Moreover, we find a low specific entropy of the SU(6) gas below that of uncorrelated spins, indicating the presence of partial spin correlations in the atomic sample. The ability to access the equation of state of such high spin systems, as well as the low obtained entropy, represent an important step towards the realization of SU(N) spin Hamiltonians and the characterization of novel SU(N) phases.
•Jan 1, 2016•1 citation