Abstract

During the last years, ultracold atoms in optical lattices have emerged as a very versatile platform to study quantum many-body physics in a clean and well-controlled environment and can therefore act as a quantum simulator for condensed-matter systems. Here, the term optical lattice refers to the periodic potential that atoms experience inside a standing-wave light field. In the easiest case, such a potential can be created by superimposing counter-propagating single-frequency laser beams.

© 2015 IEEE