Antiferromagnetic spin correlation of SU($\mathcal{N}$) Fermi gas in an optical dimerized lattice
Hideki Ozawa, Shintaro Taie, Yosuke Takasu, Yoshiro Takahashi
Abstract
We report on the observation of nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic spin correlations of a Fermi gas with SU($\mathcal{N}$) symmetry trapped in an optical dimerized lattice. Quantum magnetism originates from the superexchange interaction between quantum-mechanical spins. By using a dimerized cubic configuration, we enhance the superexchange coupling within the dimer, which gives rise to an excess of singlets compared with triplets consisting of two different spins. The precise control of the spin degrees of freedom provided by an optical pumping technique enables us a straightforward comparison between the cases of SU(2) and SU(4). Our important finding is that the antiferromagnetic correlation is enhanced for the SU(4)-spin system compared with SU(2) as a consequence of a Pomeranchuk cooling effect. This work is an important step towards the realization of novel SU($\mathcal{N}>2$) quantum magnetism.