Atom Pairing in Optical Superlattices

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Atom Pairing in Optical Superlattices

J. Kangara, Chingyun Cheng, S. Pegahan, I. Arakelyan, and J. E. Thomas

Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 083203 – Published 21 February 2018

Abstract

We study the pairing of fermions in a one-dimensional lattice of tunable double-well potentials using radio-frequency spectroscopy. The spectra reveal the coexistence of two types of atom pairs with different symmetries. Our measurements are in excellent quantitative agreement with a theoretical model, obtained by extending the Green’s function method of Orso et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 060402 (2005)] to a bichromatic 1D lattice with nonzero harmonic radial confinement. The predicted spectra comprise hundreds of discrete transitions, with symmetry-dependent initial state populations and transition strengths. Our work provides an understanding of the elementary pairing states in a superlattice, paving the way for new studies of strongly interacting many-body systems.

Received 22 September 2017
Revised 5 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.083203

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Cold gases in optical lattices Cooling & trapping Entanglement in quantum gases Fermi gases

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

J. Kangara¹, Chingyun Cheng^1,2, S. Pegahan¹, I. Arakelyan¹, and J. E. Thomas^1,*

¹Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
²Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA