Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme
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A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 40: Poster: Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC
A 40.3: Poster
Thursday, March 15, 2012, 16:30–19:00, Poster.V
Dynamical molecules in interacting quantum walks — Andre Ahlbrecht1, Volkher B. Scholz1, Albert H. Werner1, Reinhard F. Werner1, •Andrea Alberti2, and Dieter Meschede2 — 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität Hannover Appelstr. 2, 30167 Hannover, Germany — 2Institut für Angewandte Physik der Universität Bonn, Wegelerstraße 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
We report on the theoretical prediction of dynamically stable molecular states in a system of two atoms which interact through discrete quantum walks [1]. This novel dynamical binding mechanism is explained in terms of an interference effect which leads to an exponential localization of the relative position of the two atoms. The interference is brought about by the coherent collisional phase accumulated in the on-site interactions. The evolution of the molecular states is studied both in the unperturbed case, showing ballistic spreading of molecule wave packets, and in the case of an applied external force, displaying Bloch oscillations at twice the frequency of single particles.
A proposal to experimentally implement this molecular dynamical binding will be also discussed under the realistic conditions of an existing experiment [2]. Taking advantage of the anomalously large triplet scattering length of Cs atoms (aT=2400 a0) we expect sufficiently strong interactions to allow the observation of coherent evolution of molecules in the range of 20–50 quantum walk steps.
[1]: A. Ahlbrecht et al., arXiv:1105.1051v1 (2011)
[2]: M. Karski et al., Science 325, 174 (2009)