Emanuele G. Dalla Torre

Hidden Order in 1D Bose Insulators

We investigate the phase diagram of spinless bosons with long range (variant 1/r(3)) repulsive interactions, relevant to ultracold polarized atoms or molecules, using density matrix renormalization group. Between the two conventional insulating phases, the Mott and density wave phases, we find a new phase possessing hidden order revealed by nonlocal string correlations analogous to those characterizing the Haldane gapped phase of integer spin chains. We develop a mean field theory that describes the low-energy excitations in all three insulating phases. This is used to calculate the absorption spectrum due to oscillatory lattice modulation. We predict a sharp resonance in the spectrum due to a collective excitation of the new phase that would provide clear evidence for the existence of this phase.

Dissipative preparation of spin squeezed atomic ensembles in a steady state.

We present and analyze a new approach for the generation of atomic spin-squeezed states. Our method involves the collective coupling of an atomic ensemble to a decaying mode of an open optical cavity. We demonstrate the existence of a collective atomic dark state, decoupled from the radiation field. By explicitly constructing this state we find that it can feature spin squeezing bounded only by the Heisenberg limit. We show that such dark states can be deterministically prepared via dissipative means, thus turning dissipation into a resource for entanglement. The scaling of the phase sensitivity taking realistic imperfections into account is discussed.

Rise and fall of hidden string order of lattice bosons

We investigate the ground-state properties of a newly discovered phase of one-dimensional lattice bosons with extended interactions [E. G. Dalla Torre et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 260401 (2006)]. The new phase, termed the Haldane insulator in analogy with the gapped phase of spin-1 chains, is characterized by a nonlocal order parameter, which can only be written as an infinite string in terms of the bosonic densities. We show that the string order can nevertheless be probed with physical fields that couple locally, via the effect those fields have on the quantum phase transitions separating the exotic phase from the conventional Mott and density wave phases. Using a field theoretical analysis, we show that a perturbation that breaks lattice inversion symmetry gaps the critical point separating the Mott and Haldane phases and eliminates the sharp distinction between them. This is remarkable given that neither of these phases involves broken inversion symmetry. We also investigate the evolution of the phase diagram with the tunable coupling between parallel chains in an optical lattice setup. We find that interchain tunneling destroys the direct phase transition between the Mott and Haldane insulators by establishing an intermediate superfluid phase. On the other hand, coupling the chains only by weak repulsive interactions does not modify the structure of the phase diagram. The theoretical predictions are confirmed with numerical calculations using the density matrix renormalization group.

Quantum critical states and phase transitions in the presence of non-equilibrium noise

Quantum critical points in many-body systems are characterized by the appearance of long-range entanglement. These subtle quantum correlations are known to be extremely fragile with respect to thermal noise. But theoretical work now shows that, unexpectedly, another classical disturbance, the ubiquitous 1/f noise, does preserve the critical correlations.

Keldysh approach for nonequilibrium phase transitions in quantum optics: Beyond the Dicke model in optical cavities

We investigate non-equilibrium phase transitions for driven atomic ensembles, interacting with a cavity mode, coupled to a Markovian dissipative bath. In the thermodynamic limit and at low-frequencies, we show that the distribution function of the photonic mode is thermal, with an e ective temperature set by the atom-photon interaction strength. This behavior characterizes the static and dynamic critical exponents of the associated superradiance transition. Motivated by these considerations, we develop a general Keldysh path integral approach, that allows us to study physically relevant nonlinearities beyond the idealized Dicke model. Using standard diagrammatic techniques, we take into account the leading-order corrections due to the finite number of atoms N. For finite N, the photon mode behaves as a damped, classical non-linear oscillator at finite temperature. For the atoms, we propose a Dicke action that can be solved for any N and correctly captures the atoms’ depolarization due to dissipative dephasing.

Dynamical stability of a many-body Kapitza pendulum

We consider a many-body generalization of the Kapitza pendulum: the periodically-driven sine–Gordon model. We show that this interacting system is dynamically stable to periodic drives with finite frequency and amplitude. This finding is in contrast to the common belief that periodically-driven unbounded interacting systems should always tend to an absorbing infinite-temperature state. The transition to an unstable absorbing state is described by a change in the sign of the kinetic term in the Floquet Hamiltonian and controlled by the short-wavelength degrees of freedom. We investigate the stability phase diagram through an analytic high-frequency expansion, a self-consistent variational approach, and a numeric semiclassical calculation. Classical and quantum experiments are proposed to verify the validity of our results.

Dynamics and universality in noise driven dissipative systems

We investigate the dynamical properties of low-dimensional systems, driven by external noise sources. Specifically we consider a resistively shunted Josephson junction and a one-dimensional quantum liquid in a commensurate lattice potential, subject to 1/f noise. In absence of nonlinear coupling, we have shown previously that these systems establish a nonequilibrium critical steady state [Dalla Torre, Demler, Giamarchi, and Altman, Nat. Phys. 6, 806 (2010)]. Here, we use this state as the basis for a controlled renormalization group analysis using the Keldysh path integral formulation to treat the nonlinearities: the Josephson coupling and the commensurate lattice. The analysis to first order in the coupling constant indicates transitions between superconducting and localized regimes that are smoothly connected to the respective equilibrium transitions. However, at second order, the back action of the mode coupling on the critical state leads to renormalization of dissipation and emergence of an effective temperature. In the Josephson junction, the temperature is parametrically small allowing to observe a universal crossover between the superconducting and insulating regimes. The I-V characteristics of the junction displays algebraic behavior controlled by the underlying critical state over a wide range. In the noisy one-dimensional liquid, the generated dissipation and effective temperature are not small as in the junction. We find a crossover between a quasilocalized regime dominated by dissipation and another dominated by temperature. However, since in the thermal regime the thermalization rate is parametrically small, signatures of the nonequilibrium critical state may be seen in transient dynamics.

Chiral Prethermalization in Supersonically Split Condensates

We study the dynamics of phase relaxation between a pair of one-dimensional condensates created by a supersonic unzipping of a single condensate. We use the Lorentz invariance of the low energy sector of such systems to show that dephasing results in an unusual prethermal state, in which right- and left-moving excitations have different, Doppler-shifted temperatures. The chirality of these modes can be probed experimentally by measuring the interference fringe contrasts with the release point of the split condensates moving at another supersonic velocity. Further, an accelerated motion of the release point can be used to observe a spacelike analog of the Unruh effect. A concrete experimental realization of the quantum zipper for a BEC of trapped atoms on an atom chip is outlined.

Kibble-Zurek scaling in periodically driven quantum systems

We study the slow crossing of non-equilibrium quantum phase transitions in periodically-driven systems. We explicitly consider a spin chain with a uniform time-dependent magnetic field and focus on the Floquet state that is adiabatically connected to the ground state of the static model. We find that this Floquet ground state undergoes a series of quantum phase transitions characterized by a non-trivial topology. To dinamically probe these transitions, we propose to start with a large driving frequency and slowly decrease it as a function of time. Combining analytical and numerical methods, we uncover a Kibble-Zurek scaling that persists in the presence of moderate interactions. This scaling can be used to experimentally demonstrate non-equilibrium transitions that cannot be otherwise observed.

Exploring quasiparticles in high-Tc cuprates through photoemission, tunneling, and x-ray scattering experiments

One of the key challenges in the field of high-temperature superconductivity is understanding the nature of fermionic quasiparticles. Experiments consistently demonstrate the existence of a second energy scale, distinct from the d-wave superconducting gap, that persists above the transition temperature into the ‘pseudogap’ phase. One common class of models relates this energy scale to the quasiparticle gap due to a competing order, such as the incommensurate ‘checkerboard’ order observed in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS). We develop a minimal phenomenological model that allows us to quantitatively describe STM and REXS experiments and discuss their relation with photoemission spectroscopy. Experimental signatures of the incommensurate order are explained in terms of scattering of short-lived quasiparticles from local impurities. We identify the unknown second energy scale with the inverse lifetime of the quasiparticles, refocusing questions about the nature of the pseudogap phase to the study of the origin of inelastic scattering.