Relaxation of interacting Stark-localized states in a thermal lattice Bose gas

Localization in interacting quantum lattice gas systems is an active area of research. In this work, we study the dynamics of Stark-localized states in a thermal lattice Bose gas. We use a barrier beam to exclude atoms from the center of an atomic gas trapped in a harmonic potential. A three-dimensional optical lattice potential is added, creating Stark-localized states away from the center of the trap, where the gradient of the harmonic potential is large compared to the lattice bandwidth. We remove the barrier beam and observe the dynamics over hundreds of tunneling times. Using a new statistical measure, Mardia's B, we observe that the gas reaches thermal equilibrium after hundreds of tunneling times, even at high lattice depths where the gas is nearly completely Stark localized. We rule out many possible sources of relaxation, including scattering of lattice light. We conclude that physics beyond the Bose-Hubbard model may be needed to explain the long-time dynamics of interacting quantum lattice gas systems.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Wadleigh, Laura Rose

Contributors dc:contributor

• DeMarco, Brian
• Gadway, Bryce
• Lorenz, Virginia
• Wagner, Lucas

• Quantum Physics
• Localization
• Atomic Physics
• Lattice Gas

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Laura Wadleigh

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121498

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121498