Giovanni Modugno

Anderson localization of a non-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate.

Anderson localization of waves in disordered media was originally predicted fifty years ago, in the context of transport of electrons in crystals. The phenomenon is much more general and has been observed in a variety of systems, including light waves. However, Anderson localization has not been observed directly for matter waves. Owing to the high degree of control over most of the system parameters (in particular the interaction strength), ultracold atoms offer opportunities for the study of disorder-induced localization. Here we use a non-interacting Bose–Einstein condensate to study Anderson localization. The experiment is performed with a one-dimensional quasi-periodic lattice—a system that features a crossover between extended and exponentially localized states, as in the case of purely random disorder in higher dimensions. Localization is clearly demonstrated through investigations of the transport properties and spatial and momentum distributions. We characterize the crossover, finding that the critical disorder strength scales with the tunnelling energy of the atoms in the lattice. This controllable system may be used to investigate the interplay of disorder and interaction (ref. 7 and references therein), and to explore exotic quantum phases.

Observation of an Efimov spectrum in an atomic|[nbsp]|system

In 1970, Vitaly Efimov predicted that three interacting particles can form an infinite series of bound trimer states, even when none of the two-particle subsystems is stable. Experimental evidence for such an exotic state was obtained in 2006, but now an Efimov spectrum, containing two such states with the predicted scaling between them, has been observed.

Fermi-bose quantum degenerate 40K-87Rb mixture with attractive interaction

We report on the achievement of simultaneous quantum degeneracy in a mixed gas of fermionic 40K and bosonic 87Rb. Potassium is cooled to 0.3 times the Fermi temperature by means of an efficient thermalization with evaporatively cooled rubidium. Direct measurement of the collisional cross-section confirms a large interspecies attraction. This interaction is shown to affect the expansion of the Bose-Einstein condensate released from the magnetic trap, where it is immersed in the Fermi sea.

Two atomic species superfluid.

We produce a quantum degenerate mixture composed by two Bose-Einstein condensates of different atomic species, 41K and 87Rb. We study the dynamics of the superfluid system in an elongated magnetic trap, where off-axis collisions between the two interacting condensates induce scissorlike oscillations.

Atom Interferometry with Trapped Fermi Gases

We realize an interferometer with an atomic Fermi gas trapped in an optical lattice under the influence of gravity. The single-particle interference between the eigenstates of the lattice results in macroscopic Bloch oscillations of the sample. The absence of interactions between fermions allows a time-resolved study of many periods of the oscillations, leading to a sensitive determination of the acceleration of gravity. The experiment proves the superiority of noninteracting fermions with respect to bosons for precision interferometry and offers a way for the measurement of forces with microscopic spatial resolution.

39K Bose-Einstein condensate with tunable interactions.

We produce a Bose-Einstein condensate of 39K atoms. Condensation of this species with a naturally small and negative scattering length is achieved by a combination of sympathetic cooling with 87Rb and direct evaporation, exploiting the magnetic tuning of both inter- and intraspecies interactions at Feshbach resonances. We explore the tunability of the self-interactions by studying the expansion and the stability of the condensate. We find that a 39K condensate is interesting for future experiments requiring a weakly-interacting Bose gas.

Anderson localization in Bose–Einstein condensates

The understanding of disordered quantum systems is still far from being complete, despite many decades of research on a variety of physical systems. In this review we discuss how Bose–Einstein condensates of ultracold atoms in disordered potentials have opened a new window for studying fundamental phenomena related to disorder. In particular, we direct our attention to recent experimental studies on Anderson localization and on the interplay of disorder and weak interactions. These realize a very promising starting point for a deeper understanding of the complex behaviour of interacting, disordered systems.

Feshbach spectroscopy of a K − Rb atomic mixture

We perform extensive magnetic Feshbach spectroscopy of an ultracold mixture of fermionic

Magnetic control of the interaction in ultracold K-Rb mixtures

^{40}\mathrm{K}

Atom Interferometry with a Weakly Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensate

and bosonic