No Arabic abstract
In the expanding universe, relativistic scalar fields are thought to be attenuated by Hubble friction, which results from the dilation of the underlying spacetime metric. By contrast, in a contracting universe this pseudo-friction would lead to amplification. Here, we experimentally measure both Hubble attenuation and amplification in expanding and contracting toroidally-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates, in which phonons are analogous to cosmological scalar fields. We find that the observed attenuation or amplification depends on the temporal phase of the phonon field, which is only possible for non-adiabatic dynamics, in contrast to the expanding universe in its current epoch, which is adiabatic. The measured strength of the Hubble friction disagrees with recent theory [J. M. Gomez Llorente and J. Plata, Phys. Rev. A 100 043613 (2019) and S. Eckel and T. Jacobson, SciPost Phys. 10 64 (2021)], suggesting that our model does not yet capture all relevant physics. While our current work focuses on coherent-state phonons, it can be extended to regimes where quantum fluctuations in causally disconnected regions of space become important, leading to spontaneous pair-production.
We discuss the possibility of quantum transitions from the string perturbative vacuum to cosmological configurations characterized by isotropic contraction and decreasing dilaton. When the dilaton potential preserves the sign of the Hubble factor throughout the evolution, such transitions can be represented as an anti-tunnelling of the Wheeler--De Witt wave function in minisuperspace or, in a third-quantization language, as the production of pairs of universes out of the vacuum.
Quantum entanglement has been generated and verified in cold-atom experiments and used to make atom-interferometric measurements below the shot-noise limit. However, current state-of-the-art cold-atom devices exploit separable (i.e. unentangled) atomic states. This Perspective piece asks the question: can entanglement usefully improve cold-atom sensors, in the sense that it gives new sensing capabilities unachievable with current state-of-the-art devices? We briefly review the state-of-the-art in precision cold-atom sensing, focussing on clocks and inertial sensors, identifying the potential benefits entanglement could bring to these devices, and the challenges that need to be overcome to realize these benefits. We survey demonstrated methods of generating metrologically-useful entanglement in cold-atom systems, note their relative strengths and weaknesses, and assess their prospects for near-to-medium term quantum-enhanced cold-atom sensing.
Microgravity eases several constraints limiting experiments with ultracold and condensed atoms on ground. It enables extended times of flight without suspension and eliminates the gravitational sag for trapped atoms. These advantages motivated numerous initiatives to adapt and operate experimental setups on microgravity platforms. We describe the design of the payload, motivations for design choices, and capabilities of the Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory (BECCAL), a NASA-DLR collaboration. BECCAL builds on the heritage of previous devices operated in microgravity, features rubidium and potassium, multiple options for magnetic and optical trapping, different methods for coherent manipulation, and will offer new perspectives for experiments on quantum optics, atom optics, and atom interferometry in the unique microgravity environment on board the International Space Station.
We investigate the single-atom transport in a two-leg ladder with only two rungs, which together with the legs, enclose an artificial magnetic flux. Here, the atoms on the two legs possess opposite onsite energies that produce an energy offeset. We find that the atom incoming from the left leg can experience from blockade to tranparency via modifying the onsite energy, hopping strength, or magnetic flux, which can be potentially used for a quantum switcher. Furthermore, the atom incoming from the left leg can also be perfectly routed into the right leg, when, intriguingly, the outgoing atom in the R channel possesses a wavevector that can be modulated by the magnetic flux. The result may be potentially used for the interface that controls the communication between two individual quantum devices of cold atoms. The method can also be generalized to other artificial quantum systems, such as superconducting quantum circuit system, optomechanical system, etc.
The generation and manipulation of ultracold atomic ensembles in the quantum regime require the application of dynamically controllable microwave fields with ultra-low noise performance. Here, we present a low-phase-noise microwave source with two independently controllable output paths. Both paths generate frequencies in the range of $6.835,$GHz $pm$ $25,$MHz for hyperfine transitions in $^{87}$Rb. The presented microwave source combines two commercially available frequency synthesizers: an ultra-low-noise oscillator at $7,$GHz and a direct digital synthesizer for radiofrequencies. We demonstrate a low integrated phase noise of $580,mu$rad in the range of $10,$Hz to $100,$kHz and fast updates of frequency, amplitude and phase in sub-$mu$s time scales. The highly dynamic control enables the generation of shaped pulse forms and the deployment of composite pulses to suppress the influence of various noise sources.