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Measuring the dynamic structure factor of a quantum gas undergoing a structural phase transition

Author

Listed:
  • Renate Landig

    (Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich)

  • Ferdinand Brennecke

    (Physikalisches Institut, University of Bonn)

  • Rafael Mottl

    (Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich)

  • Tobias Donner

    (Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich)

  • Tilman Esslinger

    (Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich)

Abstract

The dynamic structure factor is a central quantity describing the physics of quantum many-body systems, capturing structure and collective excitations of a material. In condensed matter, it can be measured via inelastic neutron scattering, which is an energy-resolving probe for the density fluctuations. In ultracold atoms, a similar approach could so far not be applied because of the diluteness of the system. Here we report on a direct, real-time and nondestructive measurement of the dynamic structure factor of a quantum gas exhibiting cavity-mediated long-range interactions. The technique relies on inelastic scattering of photons, stimulated by the enhanced vacuum field inside a high finesse optical cavity. We extract the density fluctuations, their energy and lifetime while the system undergoes a structural phase transition. We observe an occupation of the relevant quasi-particle mode on the level of a few excitations, and provide a theoretical description of this dissipative quantum many-body system.

Suggested Citation

  • Renate Landig & Ferdinand Brennecke & Rafael Mottl & Tobias Donner & Tilman Esslinger, 2015. "Measuring the dynamic structure factor of a quantum gas undergoing a structural phase transition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8046
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8046
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