by M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino
Abstract:
Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with a partially filled shell of f orbitals. This leads to a set of characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.
Reference:
Developments in atomic control using ultracold magnetic lanthanides,
M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino,
Nature Physics, 17, 1349, 2021.
M. A. Norcia, F. Ferlaino,
Nature Physics, 17, 1349, 2021.
Bibtex Entry:
@article{norcia2021developments, title = {Developments in atomic control using ultracold magnetic lanthanides}, author = {M. A. Norcia and F. Ferlaino}, year = {2021}, month = {Nov}, abstract = {Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with a partially filled shell of f orbitals. This leads to a set of characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.}, eprint = {2108.04491}, archivePrefix = {arXiv:2108.04491}, journal = {Nature Physics}, volume = {17}, pages = {1349}, primaryClass={cond-mat.quant-gas}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01398-7}, arXiv = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.04491}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-021-01398-7}, }