Contributor info: Dr Thomas Fogarty

Tim Keller, Thomás Fogarty, Thomas Busch

SciPost Phys. 15, 095 (2023) · published 14 September 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We study the recently introduced self-pinning transition [Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 053401 (2022)] in a quasi-one-dimensional two-component quantum gas in the case where the component immersed into the Bose-Einstein condensate has a finite intraspecies interaction strength. As a result of the matter-wave backaction, the fermionization in the limit of infinite intraspecies repulsion occurs via a first-order phase transition to the self-pinned state, which is in contrast to the asymptotic behavior in static trapping potentials. The system also exhibits an additional superfluid state for the immersed component if the interspecies interaction is able to overcome the intraspecies repulsion. We approximate the superfluid state in an analytical model and derive an expression for the phase transition line that coincides with well-known phase separation criteria in binary Bose systems. The full phase diagram of the system is mapped out numerically for the case of two and three atoms in the immersed component.

Tran Duong Anh-Tai, Mathias Mikkelsen, Thomas Busch, Thomás Fogarty

SciPost Phys. 15, 048 (2023) · published 4 August 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

The appearance of chaotic quantum dynamics significantly depends on the symmetry properties of a system, and in cold atomic systems many of these can be experimentally controlled. In this work, we systematically study the emergence of quantum chaos in a minimal system describing one-dimensional harmonically trapped Bose-Bose mixtures by tuning the particle-particle interactions. Using an improved exact diagonalization scheme, we examine the transition from integrability to chaos when the inter-component interaction changes from weak to strong. Our study is based on the analysis of the level spacing distribution and the distribution of the matrix elements of observables in terms of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis and their dynamics. We show that one can obtain strong signatures of chaos by increasing the inter-component interaction strength and breaking the symmetry of intra-component interactions.

Thomás Fogarty, Lewis Ruks, Jing Li, Thomas Busch

SciPost Phys. 6, 021 (2019) · published 8 February 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We design and explore a shortcut to adiabaticity (STA) for changing the interaction strength between two ultracold, harmonically trapped bosons. Starting from initially uncorrelated, non-interacting particles, we assume a time-dependent tuning of the inter-particle interaction through a Feshbach resonance, such that the two particles are strongly interacting at the end of the driving. The efficiency of the STA is then quantified by examining the thermodynamic properties of the system, such as the irreversible work, which is related to the out-of-equilibrium excitations in the system. We also quantify the entanglement of the two-particle state through the von Neumann entropy and show that the entanglement produced in the STA process matches that of the desired target state. Given the fundamental nature of the two-atom problem in ultracold atomic physics, the presented shortcut can be expected to have significant impact on many processes that rely on inter-particle interactions.