Generation and control of waveforms is a versatile tool for advanced technologies. Quantum arbitrary waveform generator is also in place by exploiting the quantum state of coherent light. Motivated by the high coherence and tunability of the trapped ultracold matter waves, which may offer a platform for arbitrary waveform generation with atoms, we present an exact analytical approach for designing the first atomic arbitrary waveform generator. Our method considers the dynamics of an one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate in a quantum simulation environment with a moving bichromatic optical lattice. Functional expressions and parameter regimes are derived for engineering some of the fundamental waveforms, including sinusoidal, sawtooth, triangular and square profiles. In addition, compound waveforms, such as step-sawtooth, triangular-square, slanted-square, and slanted-step-square are also constructed. A numerical stability analysis is explicated in support of the experimental feasibility of the reported atomic waveform generator.
Generation and control of waveforms is a versatile tool for advanced technologies. Quantum arbitrary waveform generator is also in place by exploiting the quantum state of coherent light. Motivated by the high coherence and tunability of the trapped ultracold matter waves, which may offer a platform for arbitrary waveform generation with atoms, we present an exact analytical approach for designing the first atomic arbitrary waveform generator. Our method considers the dynamics of an one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate in a quantum simulation environment with a moving bichromatic optical lattice. Functional expressions and parameter regimes are derived for engineering some of the fundamental waveforms, including sinusoidal, sawtooth, triangular and square profiles. In addition, compound waveforms, such as step-sawtooth, triangular-square, slanted-square, and slanted-step-square are also constructed. A numerical stability analysis is explicated in support of the experimental feasibility of the reported atomic waveform generator.
In past years, optical lattices have been demonstrated as an excellent platform for making, understanding, and controlling quantum matters at nonlinear and fundamental quantum levels. Shrinking experimental observations include matter-wave gap solitons created in ultracold quantum degenerate gases, such as Bose–Einstein condensates with repulsive interaction. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically study the formation of one-dimensional gap soliton molecules and clusters in ultracold coherent atom ensembles under electromagnetically induced transparency conditions and trapped by an optical lattice. In numerics, both linear stability analysis and direct perturbed simulations are combined to identify the stability and instability of the localized gap modes, stressing the wide stability region within the first finite gap. The results predicted here may be confirmed in ultracold atom experiments, providing detailed insight into the higher-order localized gap modes of ultracold bosonic atoms under the quantum coherent effect called electromagnetically induced transparency.
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices can be used to model condensed matter systems. They provide a clean, tuneable system which can be engineered to reach parameter regimes that are not accessible in condensed matter systems. Furthermore, they provide different techniques for probing the properties of these systems.This thesis presents an experimental and theoretical study of ultracold atoms in optical lattices for quantum simulation of two-dimensional systems.The first part of this thesis describes an experiment with a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb loaded into a two-dimensional optical lattice. The beams that generate the optical lattice are controlled by acousto-optic deflection to provide a flexible optical lattice potential. The use of a dynamic ‘accordion’ lattice with ultracold atoms, where the spacing of the lattice is increased in both directions from 2.2 to 5.5 μm, is described. This technique allows an experiment such as quantum simulations to be performed with a lattice spacing smaller than the resolution limit of the imaging system, while allowing imaging of the atoms at individual lattice sites by subsequent expansion of the optical lattice. The optical lattice can also be rotated, generating an artificial magnetic field. Previous experiments with the rotating optical lattice are summarised, and steps to reaching the strongly correlated regime are discussed.The second part of this thesis details numerical techniques that can be used to describe strongly correlated two-dimensional systems. These systems are challenging to simulate numerically, as the exponential growth in the size of the Hilbert space with the number of particles means that they can only be solved exactly for very small systems. Recently proposed correlator product states [Phys. Rev. B 80, 245116 (2009)] provide a numerically efficient description which can be used to simulate large two-dimensional systems.
In this thesis we apply this method to the two-dimensional quantum Ising model, and the Bose-Hubbard model subject to an artificial magnetic field in the regime where fractional quantum Hall states are predicted to occur.
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices can be used to model condensed matter systems. They provide a clean, tuneable system which can be engineered to reach parameter regimes that are not accessible in condensed matter systems. Furthermore, they provide different techniques for probing the properties of these systems.This thesis presents an experimental and theoretical study of ultracold atoms in optical lattices for quantum simulation of two-dimensional systems.The first part of this thesis describes an experiment with a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb loaded into a two-dimensional optical lattice. The beams that generate the optical lattice are controlled by acousto-optic deflection to provide a flexible optical lattice potential. The use of a dynamic ‘accordion’ lattice with ultracold atoms, where the spacing of the lattice is increased in both directions from 2.2 to 5.5 μm, is described. This technique allows an experiment such as quantum simulations to be performed with a lattice spacing smaller than the resolution limit of the imaging system, while allowing imaging of the atoms at individual lattice sites by subsequent expansion of the optical lattice. The optical lattice can also be rotated, generating an artificial magnetic field. Previous experiments with the rotating optical lattice are summarised, and steps to reaching the strongly correlated regime are discussed.The second part of this thesis details numerical techniques that can be used to describe strongly correlated two-dimensional systems. These systems are challenging to simulate numerically, as the exponential growth in the size of the Hilbert space with the number of particles means that they can only be solved exactly for very small systems. Recently proposed correlator product states [Phys. Rev. B 80, 245116 (2009)] provide a numerically efficient description which can be used to simulate large two-dimensional systems. In this thesis we apply this method to the two-dimensional quantum Ising model, and the Bose-Hubbard model subject to an artificial magnetic field in the regime where fractional quantum Hall states are predicted to occur.
We provide an exact analytical model for the dynamics of a 1D Bose–Einstein condensate loaded in a bichromatic optical lattice. Although a host of exact solutions result from this novel method, we mainly concentrate on the solitonic excitations. The trapping potential and its depth of lattice frustration can be varied by tuning the power and the wavelengths of the two overlaying laser beams. Both attractive and repulsive regimes are thoroughly investigated. In the attractive domain, we obtain bright soliton, which reveals interesting variations with the depth of lattice frustration. Localization of the matter wave density is demonstrated as one of the applications in this regime. In the repulsive domain, dark soliton is obtained when the potential resembles an optical lattice. With appropriate tuning of the potential parameter, the dark soliton becomes modulated with an oscillatory background and gradually transforms to bright solitary trains.
Matter waves inside periodic potentials are well known from solid-state physics, where electrons interacting with a crystal lattice are considered. Atomic Bose-Einstein condensates inside light-induced periodic potentials (optical lattices) share many features with electrons in solids, but also with light waves in nonlinear materials and other nonlinear systems. Generally, atom-atom interactions in Bose-Einstein condensates lead to rich and interesting nonlinear effects. Furthermore, the experimental control over the parameters of the periodic potential and the condensate make it possible to enter regimes inaccessible in other systems. In this review, an introduction to the physics of ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices is given and an overview of the theoretical and experimental advances to date.
Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), a quantum state of matter formed when bosonic atoms are cooled close to absolute zero, have become the premier platform for investigating fundamental physics with atomic vapours. Experiments on Bose-Einstein condensates now achieve exquisite control over many aspects of the system, including interactions, trapping potential, and dynamics. This has precipitated a new wave of research into many-body quantum phenomena and, in particular, solitons. These structures are fundamental excitations of an interacting non-linear medium, of interest to a multitude of scientific disciplines from non-linear optics to financial markets. The highly controllable environment of BECs form an attractive playground for the study of solitons allowing the non-linearity to be dynamically tuned, facilitating deeper investigations into these structures. Consistently generating and analysing solitons in BEC experiments continues to be problematic. In particular, the non-linear dynamics of BECs, though required for the generation of solitons, produce particularly challenging control and optimization problems. These control problems must be solved before further investigations into the fundamental physics of soliton dynamics can be answered. This thesis makes three important advances in the control and measurement of BECs that will lead to better generation and observation of solitons. (1) a theoretical model for a control scheme capable of highly precise wavefunction engineering, (2) the experimental implementation of a machine learning algorithm for online optimisation, and (3) a continuous non-destructive imaging system capable of directly observing soliton dynamics in real-time. Together, these advances provide a suite of tools for manipulating and exploiting solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates. A novel technique was developed theoretically, offering control of the macroscopic wavefunction of a Bose-Einstein condensate with unprecedented spatial resolution and speed. The ability to control the atomic wavefunction at the fundamental length scale is key to the advancement of many quantum technologies such as quantum simulators. The magnetic resonance control scheme is demonstrated through simulation of a 87Rb condensate with the exemplar model generating a single dark soliton with corresponding π phase kink. The soliton represents a structure at the fundamental length scale of the system, and demonstrates the potential of the scheme for precision state engineering. The scheme is extended to generate higher-order soliton modes which are yet to be experimentally realised. A machine learning algorithm based on Gaussian processes was developed and implemented on the evaporative cooling stage of the production of a 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate, successfully demonstrating fast optimisation to condensation. The Gaussian process develops a statistical model based on the data that enables the characterisation of the relationship between the experimental controls and resultant quality of the BEC. This relationship is often obfuscated through technical details of the apparatus, frustrating the use of theoretical models to design optimal evaporation ramps. These models often only consider ergodic dynamics with two-body s-wave interactions and no other loss rates with better ramps likely exploiting more complex interactions. The internal model generated from the Gaussian process utilised uncertainty in measured data, making the optimisation more robust to experimental noise than alternate methods. The algorithm is shown to produce high quality Bose-Einstein condensates in 10 times fewer experimental iterations than previously used online optimisation techniques. By exploiting information on the sensitivity of each control, the model can be used to aid experimental design. The convergence of the optimisation is further improved by eliminating a superfluous parameter identified by the model. The general usefulness of machine learning compared with bespoke optimisation algorithms has seen machine learning approach ubiquity. Finally, an experimentally straightforward technique for continuous non-destructive imaging of matter-wave solitons was developed and implemented, facilitating measurements of stochastic phenomena. The technique is readily practicable on any ultracold atom experiment with an existing absorption imaging system, simply requiring the probe laser be far-detuned from resonance. With a signal-to-noise of ∼ 33 at 1.25 GHz detuning, the technique is capable of producing 100 images with no observable heating or atom loss. Coupled with a fast optical phase locked loop, the technique can be used in conjunction with absorption imaging to generate a series of non-destructive images followed by a final high signal-to-noise absorption image solely through moving the laser on resonance for the final image. The high performance and utility of this imaging setup make it a powerful tool for ultra-cold atom experiments.