2009/05/31 by Alexey V. Gorshkov, A. V. Gorshkov, M. Hermele +8 · 2 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced NMR Techniques and Applications #Condensed matter physics #Inorganic Fluorides and Related Compounds #Magnetism #Magnetism in coordination complexes #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Ultracold atom #cond-mat.quant-gas #cond-mat.str-el #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nphys1535
published as Nature Phys. 6, 289 - 295 (2010) · 15 pages, 10 figures. V2: extended experimental accessibility and Kondo sections in the main text (including new Fig. 5b) and in the Methods; reorganized other parts; added references
arxiv created 2009/09/26 · openalex publication_date 2010/02/28 · arxiv updated 2010/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Fermionic alkaline-earth atoms have unique properties that make them attractive candidates for the realization of novel atomic clocks and degenerate quantum gases. At the same time, they are attracting considerable theoretical attention in the context of quantum information processing. Here we demonstrate that when such atoms are loaded in optical lattices, they can be used as quantum simulators of unique many-body phenomena. In particular, we show that the decoupling of the nuclear spin from the electronic angular momentum can be used to implement many-body systems with an unprecedented degree of symmetry, characterized by the SU(N) group with N as large as 10. Moreover, the interplay of the nuclear spin with the electronic degree of freedom provided by a stable optically excited state allows for the study of spin-orbital physics. Such systems may provide valuable insights into strongly correlated physics of transition metal oxides, heavy fermion materials, and spin liquid phases.