Session N2: Optical Lattices
10:30 AM–12:30 PM, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Room: Grand Ballroom GF
Chair: Ken O'Hara, Penn State University
Abstract ID: BAPS.2012.DAMOP.N2.1
Abstract: N2.00001 : Investigation of the Fermi-Hubbard model with $^{6}$Li in an optical lattice
10:30 AM–10:42 AM
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Authors:
Russell A. Hart
(Rice University)
Pedro M. Duarte
(Rice University)
Tsung-Lin Yang
(Rice University)
Randy G. Hulet
(Rice University)
We present our results on investigation of the physics of the Fermi-Hubbard model using an ultracold gas of $^{6}$Li loaded into an optical lattice. We use all-optical methods to efficiently cool and load the lattice beginning with laser cooling on the $2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 2P_{3/2}$ transition and then further cooling using the narrow $2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 3P_{3/2}$ transition to T $\sim$ 59 $\mu$K.\footnote{P. M. Duarte et al., Phys. Rev. A \textbf{84}, 061406 (2011).} The second stage of laser cooling greatly enhances loading to an optical dipole trap where a two spin state mixture of atoms is evaporatively cooled to degeneracy. We then adiabatically load $\sim$$10^{6}$ degenerate fermions into a 3D optical lattice formed by three orthogonal standing waves of 1064 nm light. Overlapped with each of the three lattice beams is a non-retroreflected beam at 532 nm. This light cancels the harmonic trapping caused by the lattice beams, which extends the number of lattice sites over which a N\'eel phase can exist and facilitates evaporative cooling in the lattice. We investigate the possibility of observing antiferromagnetic ordering of spins in the lattice using Bragg scattering of light.\footnote{T. A. Corcovilos et al., Phys. Rev. A \textbf{81}, 013415 (2010).}
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2012.DAMOP.N2.1