Adilet Imambekov

One-dimensional quantum liquids: Beyond the Luttinger liquid paradigm

For many years, the Luttinger liquid theory has served as a useful paradigm for the description of one-dimensional (1D) quantum fluids in the limit of low energies. This theory is based on a linearization of the dispersion relation of the particles constituting the fluid. We review the recent progress in understanding 1D quantum fluids beyond the low-energy limit, where the nonlinearity of the dispersion relation becomes essential. The novel methods which have been developed to tackle such systems combine phenomenology built on the ideas of the Fermi edge singularity and the Fermi liquid theory, perturbation theory in the interaction strength, and a new way of treating finite-size integrable models. These methods can be applied to a wide variety of 1D fluids, from 1D spin liquids to electrons in quantum wires to cold atoms confined to a 1D trap. We review existing results for various dynamic correlation functions, in particular the density structure factor and the spectral function. Moreover, we show how a dispersion nonlinearity leads to finite particle lifetimes, and discuss its impact on the transport properties of 1D systems at finite temperatures. The conventional Luttinger liquid theory is a special limit of the new theory, and we explain the relation between the two.

Probing quantum and thermal noise in an interacting many-body system

The probabilistic character of the measurement process is one of the most puzzling and fascinating aspects of quantum mechanics. In many-body systems quantum-mechanical noise reveals non-local correlations of the underlying many-body states. Here, we provide a complete experimental analysis of the shot-to-shot variations of interference-fringe contrast for pairs of independently created one-dimensional Bose condensates. Analysing different system sizes, we observe the crossover from thermal to quantum noise, reflected in a characteristic change in the distribution functions from poissonian to Gumbel type, in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions on the basis of the Luttinger-liquid formalism. We present the first experimental observation of quasi-long-range order in one-dimensional atomic condensates, which is a hallmark of quantum fluctuations in one-dimensional systems. Furthermore, our experiments constitute the first analysis of the full distribution of quantum noise in an interacting many-body system. The analysis of the interference fringes generated by initially independent one-dimensional Bose condensates reveals contributions of both quantum noise and thermal noise, advancing our fundamental understanding of quantum states in interacting many-body systems.

Spin-exchange interactions of spin-one bosons in optical lattices: Singlet, nematic, and dimerized phases

We consider insulating phases of cold spin-1 bosonic particles with antiferromagnetic interactions, such as {sup 23}Na, in optical lattices. We show that spin-exchange interactions give rise to several distinct phases, which differ in their spin correlations. In two- and three-dimensional lattices, insulating phases with an odd number of particles per site are always nematic. For insulating states with an even number of particles per site, there is always a spin-singlet phase, and there may also be a first-order transition into the nematic phase. The nematic phase breaks spin rotational symmetry but preserves time reversal symmetry, and has gapless spin-wave excitations. The spin-singlet phase does not break spin symmetry and has a gap to all excitations. In one-dimensional lattices, insulating phases with an odd number of particles per site always have a regime where translational symmetry is broken and the ground state is dimerized. We discuss signatures of various phases in Bragg scattering and time-of-flight measurements.

Interaction quenches in the one-dimensional Bose gas

The nonequilibrium dynamics of integrable systems are highly constrained by the conservation of certain charges. There is substantial evidence that after a quantum quench they do not thermalize but their asymptotic steady state can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) built from the conserved charges. Most of the studies on the GGE so far have focused on models that can be mapped to quadratic systems, while analytic treatment in nonquadratic systems remained elusive. We obtain results on interaction quenches in a nonquadratic continuum system, the one-dimensional (1D) Bose gas described by the integrable Lieb-Liniger model. The direct implementation of the GGE prescription is prohibited by the divergence of the conserved charges, which we conjecture to be endemic to any continuum integrable systems with contact interactions undergoing a sudden quench. We compute local correlators for a noninteracting initial state and arbitrary final interactions as well as two-point functions for quenches to the Tonks-Girardeau regime. We show that in the long time limit integrability leads to significant deviations from the predictions of the grand canonical ensemble, allowing for an experimental verification in cold-atom systems.

Two-point density correlations of quasicondensates in free expansion

We measure the two-point density correlation function of freely expanding quasicondensates in the weakly interacting quasi-one-dimensional (1D) regime. While initially suppressed in the trap, density fluctuations emerge gradually during expansion as a result of initial phase fluctuations present in the trapped quasicondensate. Asymptotically, they are governed by the thermal coherence length of the system. Our measurements take place in an intermediate regime where density correlations are related to near-field diffraction effects and anomalous correlations play an important role. Comparison with a recent theoretical approach described by Imambekov et al. yields good agreement with our experimental results and shows that density correlations can be used for thermometry of quasicondensates.

Time-Dependent Impurity in Ultracold Fermions: Orthogonality Catastrophe and Beyond

Recent experimental realization of strongly imbalanced mixtures of ultracold atoms opens new possibilities for studying impurity dynamics in a controlled setting. We discuss how the techniques of atomic physics can be used to explore new regimes and manifestations of Andersons orthogonality catastrophe (OC), which could not be accessed in solid state systems. We consider a system of impurity atoms localized by a strong optical lattice potential and immersed in a sea of itinerant Fermi atoms. Ramsey interference experiments with impurity atoms probe OC in the time domain, while radio-frequency (RF) spectroscopy probes OC in the frequency domain. The OC in such systems is universal for all times and is determined by the impurity scattering length and Fermi wave vector of itinerant fermions. We calculate the universal Ramsey response and RF absorption spectra. In addition to the standard power-law contribution, which corresponds to the excitation of multiple particle-hole pairs near the Fermi surface, we identify a novel contribution to OC that comes from exciting one extra particle from the bottom of the itinerant band. This gives rise to a non-analytic feature in the RF absorption spectra, which evolves into a true power-law singularity with universal exponent 1/4 at the unitarity. Furthermore, we discuss the manifestations of OC in spin-echo experiments, as well as in the energy counting statistic of the Fermi gas following a sudden quench of the impurity state. Finally, systems in which the itinerant fermions have two or more hyperfine states provide an even richer playground for studying non-equilibrium impurity physics, allowing one to explore non-equilibrium OC and to simulate quantum transport through nano-structures. This provides a useful connection between cold atomic systems and mesoscopic quantum transport.

Exact three-body local correlations for excited states of the 1D Bose gas.

We derive an exact analytic expression for the three-body local correlations in the Lieb-Liniger model of 1D Bose gas with contact repulsion. The local three-body correlations control the thermalization and particle loss rates in the presence of terms which break integrability, as is realized in the case of 1D ultracold bosons. Our result is valid not only at finite temperature but also for a large class of nonthermal excited states in the thermodynamic limit. We present finite temperature calculations in the presence of external harmonic confinement within local density approximation, and for a highly excited state that resembles an experimentally realized configuration.

Exact prefactors in static and dynamic correlation functions of one-dimensional quantum integrable models: applications to the Calogore-Sutherland, Lieb-Liniger, and XXZ models

In this paper, we demonstrate a recently developed technique which addresses the problem of obtaining nonuniversal prefactors of the correlation functions of one-dimensional (1D) systems at zero temperature. Our approach combines the effective field theory description of generic 1D quantum liquids with the finite-size scaling of form factors (matrix elements) which are obtained using microscopic techniques developed in the context of integrable models. We thus establish exact analytic forms for the prefactors of the long-distance behavior of equal-time correlation functions as well as prefactors of singularities of dynamic response functions. In this paper, our focus is on three specific integrable models: the Calogero-Sutherland, Lieb-Liniger, and XXZ models.

Magnetophonon resonance in graphite: High-field Raman measurements and electron-phonon coupling contributions

We perform Raman scattering experiments on natural graphite in magnetic fields up to 45 T, observing a series of peaks due to interband electronic excitations over a much broader magnetic field range than previously reported. We also explore electron-phonon coupling in graphite via magnetophonon resonances. The Raman G peak shifts and splits as a function of magnetic field, due to the magnetically tuned coupling of the E2g optical phonons with the K -a ndH-point inter-Landau-level excitations. The analysis of the observed anticrossing behavior allows us to determine the electron-phonon coupling for both K -a ndH-point carriers. In the highest field range (>35 T) the G peak narrows due to suppression of electron-phonon interaction.

Exactly solvable case of a one-dimensional Bose-Fermi mixture

We consider a one-dimensional interacting Bose-Fermi mixture with equal masses of bosons and fermions, and with equal and repulsive interactions between Bose-Fermi and Bose-Bose particles. Such a system can be realized in experiments with ultracold boson and fermion isotopes in optical lattices. We use the Bethe-ansatz technique to find the ground state energy at zero temperature for any value of interaction strength and density ratio between bosons and fermions. We prove that the mixture is always stable against demixing. Combining exact solution with the local density approximation, we calculate density profiles and collective oscillation modes in a harmonic trap. In the strongly interating regime, we use exact wave functions to calculate correlation functions for bosons and fermions under periodic boundary conditions.