Quantum Physics
Multi-band spectroscopy of ultracold fermions: Observation of reduced tunneling in attractive Bose-Fermi mixtures
26 July 2011
Photo: AG Sengstock
We perform a detailed experimental study of the band excitations and tunneling properties of ultracold fermions in optical lattices. Employing a novel multi-band spectroscopy for fermionic atoms we can measure the full band structure and tunneling energy with high accuracy. In an attractive Bose-Fermi mixture we observe a significant reduction of the fermionic tunneling energy, which depends on the relative atom numbers. We attribute this to an interaction-induced increase of the lattice depth due to self-trapping of the atoms.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 135303 (2011)
News coverage:
Article at Physical Review Focus