AMO Seminar Series - Prof. Kaden Hazzard

ABSTRACT:

Ultracold molecules are a new addition to the family of ultracold quantum matter, offering numerous internal states and strong dipolar interactions. So far, experiments have largely concentrated on using one or two internal states -- for example the ground state and a single excited rotational states -- which allows them explore physics such as quantum magnetism. However, the vast number of stable rotational states present new opportunities for quantum matter. I will describe two directions of our group's research in this area. First, we will see how experiments can use rotational states as a "synthetic dimension" -- an effective extra spatial dimension -- in which exotic phenomena can occur, such as topological bandstructures and the emergence of quantum strings. Second, we'll explore how collisions of ultracold molecules, in strong contrast to atoms, can be chaotic, and how this influences the many-body physics of many interacting molecules. Time permitting, I will also sketch our group's recent results on other issues at the intersection of many-body physics and ultracold matter, for example the phase diagram of the SU(6) Fermi-Hubbard mode, which isl being measured in ongoing experiments, and how new Lieb-Robinson bounds can transform our understanding of quantum matter and lead to new numerical algorithms.