Berlin 2014 – scientific programme
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MP: Fachverband Theoretische und Mathematische Grundlagen der Physik
MP 1: Quanten-Information I
MP 1.1: Talk
Monday, March 17, 2014, 15:00–15:20, SPA SR125
Emergence of coherence and the dynamics of quantum phase transitions — Simon Braun1,2, •Mathis Friesdorf3, Sean Hodgman1,2, Michael Schreiber1,2, Jens Philipp Ronzheimer1,2, Arnau Riera3,4, Marco del Rey5, Immanuel Bloch1,2, Jens Eisert3, and Ulrich Schneider1,2 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany — 2Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany — 3Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany — 4Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam-Golm, Germany — 5Instituto de Fisica Fundamental, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
We investigate the dynamical emergence of coherence when crossing the Mott to superfluid quantum phase transition in the precisely controllable setup of ultracold atoms, experimentally addressing long-standing questions on the dynamics of quantum phase transitions. For one-dimensional systems, we find perfect agreement between experimental observations and numerical simulations of homogeneous systems, thus performing a certified quantum simulation. For intermediate quench velocities, we observe a power-law behaviour of the coherence length, reminiscent of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Contrary to what the latter suggests, we find a complex behaviour, yielding exponents that strongly depend on the final interaction strength in the superfluid. By using the full power of the quantum simulation, we also explore the emergence of coherence in higher dimensions as well as for negative temperatures. We connect our findings with insights into the propagation of quasiparticles and close-to-adiabatic quantum evolutions.