We observe interband transitions mediated by dipole-dipole interactions for an array of 1D quantum gases of chromium atoms, trapped in a 2D optical lattice. Interband transitions occur when dipolar relaxation releases an energy larger than the lattice band gap. For symmetric lattice sites, and a magnetic field parallel to the lattice axis, we compare the measured dipolar relaxation rate with a Fermi golden rule calculation. Below a magnetic field threshold, we obtain an almost complete suppression of dipolar relaxation, leading to metastable 1D gases in the highest Zeeman state.
Dipole-dipole interactions are long-ranged and anisotropic. They induce a coupling between spin and angular momentum degrees of freedom yielding new interesting physics in the field of dilute quantum gases. We have thoroughly studied dipolar relaxation DR processes in a chromium BEC transferred into an excited magnetic m = +3 sublevel and loaded in 1D and 2D optical lattices. We demonstrate and quantify how the confinement of a quantum gas in optical lattices deeply modifies the DR processes. In particular, we show that DR is strongly inhibited at low magnetic fields when the released energy becomes smaller than the vibrational quantum of energy at the bottom of the lattice wells. We show that interband transitions are induced above the corresponding threshold and that metastability of the "excited state BEC" is reached below the 2D threshold.
Magnetic dipole-dipole interactions (MDDIs) are long-ranged and anisotropic. They induce a coupling between spin and angular momentum degrees of freedom paving the way for new interesting physics in the fields of quantum gases and magnetism. This paper thoroughly studies dipolar relaxation (DR) processes in a chromium BEC. Atoms are transferred from the absolute ground state with m = -3 to the excited m = +3 Zeeman state and are loaded in a 3D optical lattice; the magnetic state distribution of this system under various conditions is monitored. In a previous publication, it was demonstrated how the confinement of a quantum gas in 1D and 2D optical lattices deeply modifies the DR processes. In particular, it was shown that DR is inhibited at low magnetic fields when the released energy becomes smaller than the vibrational quantum of energy at the bottom of the lattice wells. In the present work, instability (or decay) of the “excited state BEC” appears as a resonant process as the released energy matches band excitation. Analyzing these resonances as a function of the magnetic field orientation reveals a new manifestation of the anisotropy of MDDIs. The spectroscopy of these resonances as a function of the field intensity is found to be sensitive to the lattice site number occupancy as demonstrated by performing it after various system preparation schemes including number-squeezed Mott states. Decays from sites housing three atoms produce entangled spin and orbital states.
We study dipolar relaxation of a chromium BEC loaded into a 3D optical lattice. We observe dipolar relaxation resonances when the magnetic energy released during the inelastic collision matches an excitation towards higher energy bands. A spectroscopy of these resonances for two orientations of the magnetic field provides a 3D band spectroscopy of the lattice. The narrowest resonance is registered for the lowest excitation energy. Its line-shape is sensitive to the on-site interaction energy. We use such sensitivity to probe number squeezing in a Mott insulator, and we reveal the production of three-body states with entangled spin and orbital degrees of freedom.
We study dipolar relaxation of a chromium Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a three-dimensional (3D) optical lattice. We observe dipolar relaxation resonances when the magnetic energy released during the inelastic collision matches an excitation towards higher-energy bands. Spectroscopy of these resonances for two orientations of the magnetic field provides a 3D band spectroscopy of the lattice. The narrowest resonance is registered for the lowest excitation energy. Its line shape is sensitive to the on-site interaction energy. We use such sensitivity to probe number squeezing in a Mott insulator.
We study dipolar relaxation in both ultracold thermal and Bose-condensed Cr atom gases. We show three different ways to control dipolar relaxation, making use of either a static magnetic field, an oscillatory magnetic field, or an optical lattice to reduce the dimensionality of the gas from three-dimensional (3D) to two-dimensional (2D). Although dipolar relaxation generally increases as a function of a static magnetic-field intensity, we find a range of nonzero magnetic-field intensities where dipolar relaxation is strongly reduced. We use this resonant reduction to accurately determine the
S=6 scattering length of Cr atoms: ${a}_{6}=103\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4{a}_{0}$. We compare this new measurement to another new determination of
a6, which we perform by analyzing the precise spectroscopy of a Feshbach resonance in
d-wave collisions, yielding ${a}_{6}=102.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4{a}_{0}$. These two measurements provide, by far, the most precise determination of
a6 to date. We then show that, although dipolar interactions are long-range interactions, dipolar relaxation only involves the incoming partial wave
l=0 for large enough magnetic-field intensities, which has interesting consequences on the stability of dipolar Fermi gases. We then study ultracold Cr gases in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice resulting in a collection of independent 2D gases. We show that dipolar relaxation is modified when the atoms collide in reduced dimensionality at low magnetic-field intensities, and that the corresponding dipolar relaxation rate parameter is reduced by a factor up to
7 compared to the 3D case. Finally, we study dipolar relaxation in the presence of rf oscillating magnetic fields, and we show that both the output channel energy and the transition amplitude can be controlled by means of the rf frequency and Rabi frequency.