Vortices in a supersolid
Our research on the observation of vortices in a dipolar supersolid has now been published in Nature, and featured by Quanta magazine!
2025 Postdoc & PhD Openings!
We are happy to announce that our dipolar quantum gas group has Postdoc and four PhD positions open for 2025!
Austrian of the Year 2024
Francesca was crowned as the ‘Austrian of the Year’ in the research category at the Austria 24 gala by Die Presse!
Summer BBQ
Our 2024 Summer BBQ took place on the 24th of June and celebrated the many different achievements of the group!
2024 PhD Openings!
We are happy to announce that our dipolar quantum gas group has two PhD positions open for 2024/2025!
Murder Mystery Dinner
Our 2024 group dinner took place on the 18th of January at CasoinN da Giorgio restaurant, with a 1920’s Murder Mystery theme!
Glitches in supersolids: links between neutron stars and quantum matter
By emulating the connection between a rotating supersolid phase and an external solid phase, we were able to replicate “glitches” – sudden jumps in the solid angular momentum driven by quantum vortices leaving the supersolid.
Cluster of Excellence Quantum Science Austria granted
Three Clusters of Excellence in Innsbruck have been funded! With highly endowed clusters of excellence, the Austrian Science Fund FWF creates Austrian flagships of basic research. The University of Innsbruck will coordinate the Cluster of Excellence for Quantum Sciences.
Bloch Oscillations
By letting an erbium quantum droplet fall under gravity through an optical lattice, it is possible to understand the inter-atomic interactions and quantum fluctuations through variations of the Bloch oscillation.
ERC Advanced Grant DymetEr has been funded!
Our group studies dipolar quantum gases made of Erbium (Er) and Dysprosium (Dy) atoms. These extraordinarily magnetic species are a powerful new resource for reaching quantum simulation with strong connectivity, in which each atom is coupled to the other over long distances, and exploring exotic phases of matter that have no classical counterpart.
We have three labs: the ERBIUM LAB, where Er was Bose condensed for the first time ever, the Er-Dy LAB which studies quantum dipolar mixtures under a quantum-gas microscope, and the T-REQs LAB, where we trap Er atoms in arrays of optical tweezers for Rydberg physics. Recently, we have established a Theory Group aimed at studying and predicting dipolar phenomena in dipolar quantum gases and mixtures.
The group, led by Francesca Ferlaino, is jointly located at the Institute for Experimental Physics (IExP) of the University of Innsbruck and at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and it is part of the Innsbruck Center for Ultracold Atoms and Quantum Gases.
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News from the labs
Now in Physical Review A! In collaboration with our theory colleagues from Paris (M. Lepers, J.-F. Wyart and O. Dulieu) we have determined the dynamical polarizability of ultracold erbium atoms in the ground and in one excited state at three particular relevant wavelengths.
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n experiments with magnetic atoms conducted at extremely low temperatures, scientists have demonstrated a unique phase of matter: The atoms form a new type of quantum liquid or quantum droplet state. These so called quantum droplets may preserve their form in absence of external confinement because of quantum effects. The
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Now in Physical Review X! Together with our theory colleagues from Hannover (Luis Santos and Falk Wächtler), we have investigated the formation of a macrodroplet state in an ultracold bosonic gas of erbium atoms. Our paper has been now published in PRX and featured in Physics!
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Group news
Supersolids go circular! Our Er-Dy and theory labs collaborate together to realise supersolidity in round traps. We also investigate effective formation protocols for two-dimensional supersolids, and explore the rich excitation spectra of these objects.
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Our experimental work on the lifecycle of a supersolid got selected as APS Editors' Suggestion, featured in Physics Viewpoint with an article by Chinmayee Mishra and in Physics World with an article by Oliver Stockdale. Congratulation to the Er-Dy Team!
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In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Francesca Ferlaino was elected a Corresponding Member of the Mathematical and Natural Sciences Class of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
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