Quantum Simulation with Long-Range-Interacting Dysprosium and Erbium: from Microscopy to Rydberg Tweezers

Introduction

DyMETEr aims at creating novel quantum platforms of enhanced capability by using ultracold Erbium and Dysprosium atoms as building blocks to unprecedentedly access many-body phases of dipolar mixtures, dipolar-gas microscopy, and multi-valence-electron Rydberg quantum simulators.

Interaction Control

By pushing the limits of interaction control using tailored optical potentials and Rydberg excitations, as well as state read-out through the application of quantum-gas-microscopy techniques, we will harness the multi-valence-electron nature of magnetic lanthanides to deepen our understanding of unconventional phases and phenomena of quantum matter.

In particular, we will focus on those arising from the combined effects of short- and long-range interactions.

Project Objectives

The main project objectives are:

1. The bulk phases of matter in dipolar quantum mixtures: Accessing the unexplored miscibility-immiscibility phase diagram of dipolar quantum mixtures in the droplet and supersolid regime.
2. Microscopy and lattice physics with quantum dipoles: Developing quantum-gas microscopy for magnetic atoms to access quantum simulation with long-range-interacting atomic systems.
3. Tweezer arrays with multi-valence-electron Rydberg atoms: Realizing novel Rydberg quantum simulators exploiting the multi-electron nature of magnetic lanthanide atoms.

Conclusion

Our project is very ambitious, but if successful, it has clearly the potential to break new ground in dipolar quantum physics with ultracold atoms.