Spin Mixture Research Articles

Ultracold atomic spin mixtures in ultrastable magnetic field environments

Ultracold atomic spin mixtures develop rich and intriguing magnetic properties when external radiation coherently couples different spin states. In particular, the coupled mixture may acquire a critical behavior when the spin interactions equal the coupling energy. However, atomic mixtures generally feature a relatively high sensitivity to magnetic fields that can set a limitation to the observable phenomena. In this article, we present an overview of experimental studies of magnetism based on superfluid multicomponent gases in an ultrastable magnetic field environment, which recently became available.

Suppressing dipolar relaxation in thin layers of dysprosium atoms

The dipolar interaction can be attractive or repulsive, depending on the position and orientation of the dipoles. Constraining atoms to a plane with their magnetic moment aligned perpendicularly leads to a largely side-by-side repulsion and generates a dipolar barrier which prevents atoms from approaching each other. We show experimentally and theoretically how this can suppress dipolar relaxation, the dominant loss process in spin mixtures of highly magnetic atoms. Using dysprosium, we observe an order of magnitude reduction in the relaxation rate constant, and another factor of ten is within reach based on the models which we have validated with our experimental study. The loss suppression opens up many new possibilities for quantum simulations with spin mixtures of highly magnetic atoms.

Quasi-fractionalization of edge spin in chirality-assisted cluster-based Haldane state on triangular spin tube

Fractionalization of quantum degrees of freedom holds the key to finding new phenomena in physics, e.g., the quark model in hadron physics and the spin-charge separation in strongly-correlated electron systems. A typical example of the fractionalization in quantum spin systems is the spin-1 Haldane state, whose intriguing characteristics are well described by fractionalized virtual spins, delivering two individual spin-1/2 degrees of freedom as edge states. Here we theoretically propose an exotic extension of the Haldane state to the pseudo spin-1 model consisting of the mixture of real spin and spin chirality, resulting in quasi-fractionalization of spin-1/2 magnetization, i.e., an approximately-1/4 spin. Existence of the edge state is confirmed both analytically and numerically in a triangular spin tube, combining a low-energy perturbation theory and variational matrix-product state method. Our study not only proposes an unconventional quantum spin object but paves a way to chop the elementary quantities further.

Optical and magnetic properties of cobalt doped TiN thin films grown by RF/DC magnetron sputtering

Here we report the study of cobalt doped titanium nitride thin films grown by reactive co-sputtering of cobalt and titanium targets in the presence of argon and nitrogen gases. Thin films were grown with different cobalt concentrations and analyzed by atomic force microscopy, spectrophotometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray reflectometry and vibrating sample magnetometry. We have found that the films readily oxidize after exposure to the atmosphere and form a cobalt doped titanium oxynitride. The variable cobalt concentration in the films affects the optical, chemical and magnetic properties. The bandgap of the films generally becomes narrower at higher cobalt concentrations. Cobalt is found to be in a mixture of the high spin + 2 and low spin + 3 oxidation states. At the lower cobalt concentrations, the magnetization is low and it is temperature-independent. Whereas at higher cobalt concentrations, the magnetic response becomes temperature-dependent with a mix of paramagnetism and superparamagnetism at 3–5 K.

Quantum Degenerate Fermi Gas in an Orbital Optical Lattice.

Spin-polarized samples and spin mixtures of quantum degenerate fermionic atoms are prepared in selected excited Bloch bands of an optical checkerboard square lattice. For the spin-polarized case, extreme band lifetimes above 10s are observed, reflecting the suppression of collisions by Pauli's exclusion principle. For spin mixtures, lifetimes are reduced by an order of magnitude by two-body collisions between different spin components, but still remarkably large values of about 1s are found. By analyzing momentum spectra, we can directly observe the orbital character of the optical lattice. The observations demonstrated here form the basis for exploring the physics of Fermi gases with two paired spin components in orbital optical lattices, including the regime of unitarity.

Observation of a Lee-Huang-Yang Fluid.

We observe monopole oscillations in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates, where the usually dominant mean-field interactions are canceled. In this case, the system is governed by the next-order Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction to the ground state energy, which describes the effect of quantum fluctuations. Experimentally such a LHY fluid is realized by controlling the atom numbers and interaction strengths in a ^{39}K spin mixture confined in a spherical trap potential. We measure the monopole oscillation frequency as a function of the LHY interaction strength as proposed recently by Jrgensen etal. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 173403 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.121.173403] and find excellent agreement with simulations of the complete experiment including the excitation procedure and inelastic losses. This confirms that the system and its collective behavior are initially dominated by LHY interactions. Moreover, the monopole oscillation frequency is found to be stable against variations of the involved scattering lengths in a broad region around the ideal values, confirming the stabilizing effect of the LHY interaction. These results pave the way for using the nonlinearity provided by the LHY term in quantum simulation experiments and for investigations beyond the LHY regime.

Interorbital interactions in an SU(2)⊗SU(6) -symmetric Fermi-Fermi mixture

We characterize inter- and intraisotope interorbital interactions between atoms in the 1S0 ground state and the 3P0 metastable state in interacting Fermi-Fermi mixtures of 171Yb and 173Yb. We perform high-precision clock spectroscopy to measure interaction-induced energy shifts in a deep 3D optical lattice and determine the corresponding scattering lengths. We find the elastic interaction of the interisotope mixtures 173Yb_e-171Yb_g and 173Yb_g-171Yb_e to be weakly attractive and very similar, while the corresponding two-body loss coefficients differ by more than two orders of magnitude. By comparing different spin mixtures we experimentally demonstrate the SU(2)xSU(6) symmetry of all elastic and inelastic interactions. Furthermore, we measure the spin-exchange interaction in 171Yb and confirm its previously observed antiferromagnetic nature.

Graph-theory treatment of one-dimensional strongly repulsive fermions

One-dimensional atomic mixtures of fermions can effectively realize spin chains and thus constitute a clean and controllable platform to study quantum magnetism. Such strongly correlated quantum systems are also of sustained interest to quantum simulation and quantum computation due to their computational complexity. In this article, we exploit spectral graph theory to completely characterize the symmetry properties of one-dimensional fermionic mixtures in the strong interaction limit. We also develop a powerful method to obtain the so-called Tan contacts associated with certain symmetry classes. In particular, compared to brute force diagonalization that is already virtually impossible for a moderate number of fermions, our analysis enables us to make unprecedented efficient predictions about the energy gap of complex spin mixtures. Our theoretical results are not only of direct experimental interest, but also provide important guidance for the design of adiabatic control protocols in strongly correlated fermion mixtures.

Recently observed Pc as molecular states and possible mixture of Pc(4457)

Recently observed spectrum of $P_c$ states exhibits a strong link to $\Sigma_c \bar{D}^{(*)}$ thresholds. In spite of successful molecular interpretations, we still push forward to wonder whether there exist finer structures. Utilizing the effecitve lagrangians respecting heavy quark symmetry and chiral symmetry, as well as instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter equations, we investigate the $\Sigma_c \bar{D}^{(*)}$ interactions and three $P_c$ states. We confirm that $P_c(4312)$ and $P_c(4440)$ are good candidates of $\Sigma_c \bar{D}$ and $\Sigma_c \bar{D}^{*}$ molecules with spin-$\frac12$, respectively. Unlike other molecular calculations, our results indicate $P_c(4457)$ signal might be a mixture of spin-$\frac32$ and spin-$\frac12$ $\Sigma_c \bar{D}^{*}$ molecules, where the latter one appears to be an excitation of $P_c(4440)$. Therefore we conclude that, confronting three LHCb $P_c$ signals, there may exist not three, but four molecular states.

Simultispin: A versatile graphical user interface for the simulation of solid-state continuous wave EPR spectra.

Solid-state continuous wave (cw) electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is particularly suitable for metal complex analysis. Extracting magnetic parameters by simulation is often necessary to describe the electronic structure of the studied molecular compounds that can have various electronic spin states and characterized by different parameters like g-values, hyperfine coupling or zero field splitting values. Easyspin toolbox on MATLAB is a powerful tool, but for the user, it requires spending time with coding and could discourage nonexperts. Facing this context, we have developed a graphical user interface called Simultispin, dedicated to solid-state cw-EPR spectra simulation. Some examples of experimental spectra of metal complexes (mixture of low spin and high spin FeIII complexes, dynamic disorder of a CuII complex, photogeneration of a MnIII complex), highlighting specific solid-state functions, are described and analyzed based on simulations performed with Simultispin. We hope that its ergonomy and the ease to set up a complete set of parameters to get reliable simulations could help a large EPR community to improve the efficiency of their interpretations.

Coincident detection of recoil ions and photoelectrons after multiphoton-ionisation of cold 6Li atoms trapped in a dipole trap

SynopsisWe report on performing high resolution recoil ion momentum spectroscopy in a reaction microscope (ReMi) on a target of dipole-force trapped cold 6Li atoms in a non-interacting |1〉-|2〉 spin mixture and coincident detection of recoil ions and photoelectrons. Photo-ionization occurs from the electronic ground state of the 6Li atoms and IR photons significantly contribute to the ion yield via 3-photon resonances. High resolution time-of-flight spectra are obtained by modulating the trap depth synced with the arrival of the fs laser pulses.

Insulator phases of a mixture of spinor fermions and hard-core bosons

We study numerically a one-dimensional mixture of spin-$\tfrac{1}{2}$ fermions and scalar bosons in the hard-core limit. Considering repulsive fermion-fermion and boson-fermion interactions, we find superfluid and insulator states whose phase diagram is calculated. We determine that given a fermionic density $\rho_F$, the insulator states are located at the bosonic densities $\rho_B=1-\rho_F$ and $\rho_B=1-\tfrac{1}{2}\rho_F$, and emerge even in the absence of fermion-fermion coupling. In addition, the boson-fermion repulsion drives quantum phase transitions inside the insulator lobes with $\rho_B=1/2$. Our predictions could be observed in current cold-atom experimental platforms.

Momentum reconstruction and contact of the one-dimensional Bose-Fermi mixture

We investigate the one-dimensional mixture of scalar bosons and spin polarized fermions interacting through a $\delta$-function potential. Using a thermodynamic description derived by employing a lattice embedding of the continuum model and the quantum transfer matrix method we perform a detailed analysis of the contact and quantum critical behaviour. We show that the compressibility Wilson ratio presents anomalous enhancement at the quantum critical points and that the boundaries of the quantum critical regions can be well mapped by the maxima of the specific heat. As a function of the coupling strength and temperature the contact presents nonmonotonic behavior. In the strong coupling regime the local minimum exhibited by the contact as a function of temperature is accompanied by a significant momentum reconstruction at both low and high momenta. This momentum reconstruction occurs as the system crosses the boundary between the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase to the spin-incoherent regime and provides an experimental signature of the transition.

Microwave preparation of two-dimensional fermionic spin mixtures

We present a method for preparing a single two-dimensional sample of a two-spin mixture of fermionic potassium in a single antinode of an optical lattice, in a quantum-gas microscope apparatus. Our technique relies on spatially-selective microwave transitions in a magnetic field gradient. Adiabatic transfer pulses were optimized for high efficiency and minimal atom loss and heating due to spin-changing collisions. We have measured the dynamics of those loss processes, which are more pronounced in the presence of a spin mixture. As the efficient preparation of atoms in a single antinode requires a homogeneous transverse magnetic field, we developed a method to image and minimize the magnetic field gradients in the focal plane of the microscope.

Feshbach resonances in potassium Bose-Bose mixtures

We present a detailed study of the scattering properties of ultracold mixtures of bosonic potassium atoms. We locate 20 previously unobserved Feshbach resonances in isotopic 39K-41K mixtures. These are assigned to s-wave molecular channels by comparison to an asymptotic bound state model and coupled channels calculations. Additional Feshbach resonances are studied in spin mixtures of a single potassium isotope, both in 39K and 41K. In particular, we characterize the parameters of a selected 39K Feshbach resonance by radio-frequency association of Feshbach molecules. Our results could be exploited to refine the model potentials for potassium scattering. Furthermore, these new Feshbach resonances enlarge the range of experiments possible with degenerate Bose-Bose mixtures.

Tailoring spin mixtures by ion-enhanced Maxwell magnetic coupling in color-tunable organic electroluminescent devices

In this work, we show that the spin dynamics of excitons can be dramatically altered by Maxwell magnetic field coupling, together with an ion-enhanced, low-internal-splitting-energy organic semiconducting emitter. By employing a unique, alternating current (AC)-driven organic electroluminescent (OEL) device architecture that optimizes this magnetic field coupling, almost complete control over the singlet-to-triplet ratio (from fluorescent to phosphorescent emission in a single device) is realized. We attribute this spin population control to magnetically sensitive polaron–spin pair intersystem crossings (ISCs) that can be directly manipulated through external driving conditions. As an illustration of the utility of this approach to spin-tailoring, we demonstrate a simple hybrid (double-layer) fluorescence–phosphorescence (F–P) device using a polyfluorene-based emitter with a strong external Zeeman effect and ion-induced long carrier diffusion. Remarkable control over de-excitation pathways is achieved by controlling the device-driving frequency, resulting in complete emission blue–red color tunability. Picosecond photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy directly confirms that this color control derives from the magnetic manipulation of the singlet-to-triplet ratios. These results may pave the way to far more exotic organic devices with magnetic-field-coupled organic systems that are poised to usher in an era of dynamic spintronics at room temperature.

Photoassociation spectroscopy of ultracold Yb173 atoms near the intercombination line

We report on photoassociation (PA) spectroscopy of a degenerate Fermi gas of $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ atoms near the dissociation limit of the spin-forbidden $^{1}S_{0}$--$^{3}P_{1}$ intercombination transition. An atom-loss spectrum is measured from a trapped sample for a spectral range down to $\ensuremath{-}1$ GHz with respect to the $f=5/2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{f}^{\ensuremath{'}}=7/2$ atomic resonance. The spectrum shows 80 PA resonances, revealing the high nuclear spin nature of the system. To obtain additional information on the excited molecular states, we investigate the Zeeman effect on the spectrum near a detuning of $\ensuremath{-}0.8$ GHz and examine the quantum numbers of the Zeeman levels using various two-component spin mixture samples. Finally, we measure the atom-loss rate under PA light for several pronounced PA resonances.

Thermometry of a deeply degenerate Fermi gas with a Bose-Einstein condensate

We measure the temperature of a deeply degenerate Fermi gas, by using a weakly interacting sample of heavier bosonic atoms as a probe. This thermometry method relies on the thermalization between the two species and on the determination of the condensate fraction of the bosons. In our experimental implementation, a small sample of 41K atoms serves as the thermometer for a 6Li Fermi sea. We investigate the evaporative cooling of a 6Li spin mixture in a single-beam optical dipole trap and observe how the condensate fraction of the thermometry atoms depends on the final trap depth. From the condensate fraction, the temperature can be readily extracted. We show that the lowest temperature of 6.3(5)% of the Fermi temperature is obtained, when the decreasing trap depth closely approaches the Fermi energy. To understand the systematic effects that may in uence the results, we carefully investigate the role of the number of bosons and the thermalization dynamics between the two species. Our thermometry approach provides a conceptually simple, accurate, and general way to measure the temperature of deeply degenerate Fermi gases. Since the method is independent of the specific interaction conditions within the Fermi gas, it applies to both weakly and strongly interacting Fermi gases.

Investigation of Feshbach resonances in ultracold 40K spin mixtures.

Magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances are an indispensable tool for experiments with atomic quantum gases. We report on 37 thus far unpublished Feshbach resonances and four further probable Feshbach resonances in spin mixtures of ultracold fermionic 40K with temperatures well below 100 nK. In particular, we locate a broad resonance at B = 389.7G with a magnetic width of 26.7 G. Here 1 G = 10-4 T. Furthermore, by exciting low-energy spin waves, we demonstrate a means to precisely determine the zero crossing of the scattering length for this broad Feshbach resonance. Our findings allow for further tunability in experiments with ultracold 40K quantum gases.

Observation of interspecies Feshbach resonances in an ultracold K39−Cs133 mixture and refinement of interaction potentials

We observe interspecies Feshbach resonances due to s-wave bound states in ultracold $^{39}$K-$^{133}$Cs scattering for three different spin mixtures. The resonances are observed as joint atom loss and heating of the K sample. We perform least-squares fits to obtain improved K-Cs interaction potentials that reproduce the observed resonances, and carry out coupled-channel calculations to characterize the scattering and bound-state properties for $^{39}$K-Cs, $^{40}$K-Cs and $^{41}$K-Cs. Our results open up the possibilities of tuning interactions in K-Cs atomic mixtures and of producing ultracold KCs molecules.