Dynamics of a Lithium-6 Molecular Bose-Einstein Condensate in a One-Dimensional Shaken Optical Lattice*

Quantum simulation has been a growing source of interest as a tool for studying quantum many-body systems. In this talk, we will be illustrating our efforts towards studying the dynamics of a Lithium-6 molecular Bose-Einstein condensate (mBEC) within a shaken one-dimensional optical lattice. The shaken lattice is formed by two counter-propagating 1064nm beams incident on the mBEC, with in-phase and quadrature (IQ) modulation being provided to the retro path [1]. This results in a hybridization between the lowest two Bloch bands as the shaking frequency is tuned close to the band gap, leading to a real-space bifurcation into two clusters of opposite momentum. By subsequently increasing the shaking frequency after an initial bifurcation, we tune the location of the double well dispersion minima and minimize the group velocity of the atom clusters, with the goal of reaching a stable equilibrium. Additionally, we investigate the effect of applying a perpendicular trap beam and performing the shaking sequence in the absence of the crossed-dipole trap used in the evaporative cooling stage. Achieving this goal could provide a useful starting point in investigating effective ferromagnetic domains of composite bosons and other magnetism phenomena [2]. 

Sources:

[1] https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.108.L051302 

[2] https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2789