2007/04/22 by Torben Mueller, Torben Müller, Simon Foelling +3 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #cond-mat.other #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.200405
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 200405 (2007) · 4 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2007/04/22 · openalex publication_date 2007/11/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We report on the realization of a multiorbital system with ultracold atoms in the excited bands of a 3D optical lattice by selectively controlling the band population along a given lattice direction. The lifetime of the atoms in the excited band is found to be considerably longer (10-100 times) than the characteristic time scale for intersite tunneling, thus opening the path for orbital selective many-body physics with ultracold atoms. Upon exciting the atoms from an initial lowest band Mott-insulating state to higher lying bands, we observe the dynamical emergence of coherence in 1D (and 2D), compatible with Bose-Einstein condensation to a nonzero momentum state.