A hidden order unraveled: Microscopic views on quantum fluctuations

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — Fluctuations are fundamental to many physical phenomena in our everyday life, such as the phase transitions from a liquid into a gas or from a solid into a liquid. But even at absolute zero temperature, where all motion in the classical world is frozen out, special quantum mechanical fluctuations prevail that can drive the transition between two quantum phases.

Now a team around Immanuel Bloch and Stefan Kuhr at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) has succeeded in directly observing such quantum fluctuations. Using a high resolution microscope, they were able to image quantum-correlated particle-hole pairs in a gas of ultracold atoms. This allowed the physicists to unravel a hidden order in the crystal and to characterize the different phases of the quantum gas. The work was performed together with scientists from the Theory Division at the MPQ and ETH Zurich. These measurements open new ways to characterize novel quantum phases of matter.

The scientists start by cooling a small cloud of rubidium atoms down to a temperature near absolute zero, about minus 273 degree Celsius. The ensemble is then subjected to a light field that severely restricts the motion of the particles along one-dimensional tubes of light aligned in parallel. An additional standing laser wave along the tubes creates a one-dimensional optical lattice that holds the atoms in a periodic array of bright and dark regions of light.

The atoms move in the periodic light field like electrons in solids. As these can be electric conductors or insulators, also the one-dimensional quantum gases can behave like a superfluid or like an insulator at low temperatures. In particular, the height of the optical lattice potential plays an important role: it determines whether the atom is fixed on a particular lattice site or whether is able to move to a neighbouring site. At very large lattice depths, each lattice site is occupied by exactly one atom. This highly ordered state is called a "Mott insulator," after the British physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Neville Mott. When the lattice depth is decreased slightly, the atoms have enough energy to reach a neighbouring site by quantum mechanical tunneling. In this way, pairs of empty and doubly occupied sites emerge, so-called particle-hole pairs. Intriguingly, these quantum fluctuations also occur at absolute zero temperature, when all movement in the classical world is frozen out. The position of the quantum-correlated particle-hole pairs in the crystal is completely undetermined and is fixed only by the measurement process.

In recent experiments, the physicists around Stefan Kuhr and Immanuel Bloch had already developed a method, which allowed to image single atoms lattice site by lattice site. The atoms are cooled using laser beams, and the fluorescence photons emitted in this process are used to observe the atoms with a high resolution microscope. Holes naturally show up as dark spots, but so do doubly occupied sites as the two particles kick each other out of the lattice in the experiment. Therefore particle-hole pairs appear as two neighbouring dark lattice sites. "With our technique, we can directly observe this fundamental quantum phenomenon for the first time," describes doctoral student Manuel Endres enthusiastically.

The physicists measure the number of neighbouring particle-hole pairs through a correlation function. With increasing kinetic energy, more and more particles tunnel to neighbouring sites and the pair correlations increase. However, when the number of particle-hole pairs is very large, it becomes difficult to unambiguously identify them. Hence the correlation function takes on smaller values. Finally, the ordered state of a Mott insulator vanishes completely und the quantum gas becomes a superfluid again. Here fluctuations of holes and particles occur independently. The correlation function measured in the experiment is very well reproduced by model calculations, which were performed by scientists from the Theory Division at the MPQ and the ETH Zurich. Interestingly, the same investigations on two-dimensional quantum-gases clearly showed that quantum fluctuations are not as prominent as in one-dimensional systems.

The scientists extended their analysis to correlations between several lattice sites along a string. Such non-local correlation functions contain important information about the underlying many-body system and can be used as an order parameter to characterize different quantum phases. In the experiment described here, such non-local order parameters have been measured for the first time. In the future, the scientists plan to use these measurements for the detection of topological quantum phases. These can be useful for robust quantum computers and could help to understand superconductivity at high temperatures. (MPQ)

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Journal Reference:

M. Endres, M. Cheneau, T. Fukuhara, C. Weitenberg, P. Schauss, C. Gross, L. Mazza, M. C. Banuls, L. Pollet, I. Bloch, S. Kuhr. Observation of Correlated Particle-Hole Pairs and String Order in Low-Dimensional Mott Insulators. Science, 2011; 334 (6053): 200 DOI: 10.1126/science.1209284

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A hidden order unraveled: Microscopic views on quantum fluctuations

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — Fluctuations are fundamental to many physical phenomena in our everyday life, such as the phase transitions from a liquid into a gas or from a solid into a liquid. But even at absolute zero temperature, where all motion in the classical world is frozen out, special quantum mechanical fluctuations prevail that can drive the transition between two quantum phases.

Now a team around Immanuel Bloch and Stefan Kuhr at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) has succeeded in directly observing such quantum fluctuations. Using a high resolution microscope, they were able to image quantum-correlated particle-hole pairs in a gas of ultracold atoms. This allowed the physicists to unravel a hidden order in the crystal and to characterize the different phases of the quantum gas. The work was performed together with scientists from the Theory Division at the MPQ and ETH Zurich. These measurements open new ways to characterize novel quantum phases of matter.

The scientists start by cooling a small cloud of rubidium atoms down to a temperature near absolute zero, about minus 273 degree Celsius. The ensemble is then subjected to a light field that severely restricts the motion of the particles along one-dimensional tubes of light aligned in parallel. An additional standing laser wave along the tubes creates a one-dimensional optical lattice that holds the atoms in a periodic array of bright and dark regions of light.

The atoms move in the periodic light field like electrons in solids. As these can be electric conductors or insulators, also the one-dimensional quantum gases can behave like a superfluid or like an insulator at low temperatures. In particular, the height of the optical lattice potential plays an important role: it determines whether the atom is fixed on a particular lattice site or whether is able to move to a neighbouring site. At very large lattice depths, each lattice site is occupied by exactly one atom. This highly ordered state is called a "Mott insulator," after the British physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Neville Mott. When the lattice depth is decreased slightly, the atoms have enough energy to reach a neighbouring site by quantum mechanical tunneling. In this way, pairs of empty and doubly occupied sites emerge, so-called particle-hole pairs. Intriguingly, these quantum fluctuations also occur at absolute zero temperature, when all movement in the classical world is frozen out. The position of the quantum-correlated particle-hole pairs in the crystal is completely undetermined and is fixed only by the measurement process.

In recent experiments, the physicists around Stefan Kuhr and Immanuel Bloch had already developed a method, which allowed to image single atoms lattice site by lattice site. The atoms are cooled using laser beams, and the fluorescence photons emitted in this process are used to observe the atoms with a high resolution microscope. Holes naturally show up as dark spots, but so do doubly occupied sites as the two particles kick each other out of the lattice in the experiment. Therefore particle-hole pairs appear as two neighbouring dark lattice sites. "With our technique, we can directly observe this fundamental quantum phenomenon for the first time," describes doctoral student Manuel Endres enthusiastically.

The physicists measure the number of neighbouring particle-hole pairs through a correlation function. With increasing kinetic energy, more and more particles tunnel to neighbouring sites and the pair correlations increase. However, when the number of particle-hole pairs is very large, it becomes difficult to unambiguously identify them. Hence the correlation function takes on smaller values. Finally, the ordered state of a Mott insulator vanishes completely und the quantum gas becomes a superfluid again. Here fluctuations of holes and particles occur independently. The correlation function measured in the experiment is very well reproduced by model calculations, which were performed by scientists from the Theory Division at the MPQ and the ETH Zurich. Interestingly, the same investigations on two-dimensional quantum-gases clearly showed that quantum fluctuations are not as prominent as in one-dimensional systems.

The scientists extended their analysis to correlations between several lattice sites along a string. Such non-local correlation functions contain important information about the underlying many-body system and can be used as an order parameter to characterize different quantum phases. In the experiment described here, such non-local order parameters have been measured for the first time. In the future, the scientists plan to use these measurements for the detection of topological quantum phases. These can be useful for robust quantum computers and could help to understand superconductivity at high temperatures. (MPQ)

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Journal Reference:

M. Endres, M. Cheneau, T. Fukuhara, C. Weitenberg, P. Schauss, C. Gross, L. Mazza, M. C. Banuls, L. Pollet, I. Bloch, S. Kuhr. Observation of Correlated Particle-Hole Pairs and String Order in Low-Dimensional Mott Insulators. Science, 2011; 334 (6053): 200 DOI: 10.1126/science.1209284

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

'Hidden' galaxies of the universe have lower amounts of heavier elements

ScienceDaily (June 14, 2011) — A unique example of some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies in the universe have been found by an international team of astronomers lead by the Niels Bohr Institute. The galaxy has lower amounts of heavier elements than other known galaxies of this type. The discovery means that small low surface brightness galaxies may have more in common with the first galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang than previously thought.

The results have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.

As the name implies, the galaxies are faint and therefore difficult to find and challenging to observe. The galaxy called ESO 546-G34 is a nearly 20 year old observation that no one had previously taken much notice of. The observation has now been analysed using new methods and it is only now that astronomers have realised how special it is.

"The galaxy gives us an idea of how the galaxies must have looked before star formation really got going," explains Lars Mattsson, an astrophysicist at the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen. The discovery was made in collaboration with astronomers at Uppsala University and the Astronomical Observatory in Kiev.

The evolution of galaxies

A galaxy consists of many millions or billions of stars. Stars are formed when giant gas clouds condense and form a ball of glowing gas -- a star. A star produces energy through the fusion of hydrogen into helium, which fuses into carbon and oxygen and further into heavier and heavier elements. The process of conversion from gases to heavier elements takes anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to billions of years.

Most of the known galaxies that have only formed small amounts of the heavy elements are young galaxies that are undergoing gigantic outbursts of star formation. This makes them incredibly bright and easier to observe. One type of galaxy with bursts of star formation is called blue compact galaxies, as newly formed stars emit a bluish light.

'Unevolved' dwarf galaxy

The galaxy that has been observed is small and contains only extremely small amounts of the heavier elements. That it consists mostly of the gases hydrogen and helium and is so faint means that it has only just begun to form stars.

"Our analysis shows that while a large, mature galaxy like our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is composed of around 15-20 percent gas, this faint little galaxy is composed of up to 50 percent gas and is very poor in heavier elements. This means that it is very unevolved," explains Lars Mattsson.

The theory is that the very small faint galaxies collide with each other and the greater concentration of gas material and dynamical disturbance boosts star formation and thereby form the larger blue, compact galaxies.

"ESO 546-G34 is a left over dwarf galaxy that doesn't seem to have collided with other galaxies. This gives us unique insight into how the earliest galaxies in the universe may have looked," explains Lars Mattsson.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Copenhagen, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Lars Mattsson, Leonid S. Pilyugin, Nils Bergvall. ESO 546-G34: the most-metal-poor, low surface brightness galaxy? Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01077.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

'Hidden' galaxies of the universe have lower amounts of heavier elements

ScienceDaily (June 14, 2011) — A unique example of some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies in the universe have been found by an international team of astronomers lead by the Niels Bohr Institute. The galaxy has lower amounts of heavier elements than other known galaxies of this type. The discovery means that small low surface brightness galaxies may have more in common with the first galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang than previously thought.

The results have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.

As the name implies, the galaxies are faint and therefore difficult to find and challenging to observe. The galaxy called ESO 546-G34 is a nearly 20 year old observation that no one had previously taken much notice of. The observation has now been analysed using new methods and it is only now that astronomers have realised how special it is.

"The galaxy gives us an idea of how the galaxies must have looked before star formation really got going," explains Lars Mattsson, an astrophysicist at the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen. The discovery was made in collaboration with astronomers at Uppsala University and the Astronomical Observatory in Kiev.

The evolution of galaxies

A galaxy consists of many millions or billions of stars. Stars are formed when giant gas clouds condense and form a ball of glowing gas -- a star. A star produces energy through the fusion of hydrogen into helium, which fuses into carbon and oxygen and further into heavier and heavier elements. The process of conversion from gases to heavier elements takes anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to billions of years.

Most of the known galaxies that have only formed small amounts of the heavy elements are young galaxies that are undergoing gigantic outbursts of star formation. This makes them incredibly bright and easier to observe. One type of galaxy with bursts of star formation is called blue compact galaxies, as newly formed stars emit a bluish light.

'Unevolved' dwarf galaxy

The galaxy that has been observed is small and contains only extremely small amounts of the heavier elements. That it consists mostly of the gases hydrogen and helium and is so faint means that it has only just begun to form stars.

"Our analysis shows that while a large, mature galaxy like our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is composed of around 15-20 percent gas, this faint little galaxy is composed of up to 50 percent gas and is very poor in heavier elements. This means that it is very unevolved," explains Lars Mattsson.

The theory is that the very small faint galaxies collide with each other and the greater concentration of gas material and dynamical disturbance boosts star formation and thereby form the larger blue, compact galaxies.

"ESO 546-G34 is a left over dwarf galaxy that doesn't seem to have collided with other galaxies. This gives us unique insight into how the earliest galaxies in the universe may have looked," explains Lars Mattsson.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Copenhagen, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Lars Mattsson, Leonid S. Pilyugin, Nils Bergvall. ESO 546-G34: the most-metal-poor, low surface brightness galaxy? Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01077.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New synchrotron technique could see hidden building blocks of life

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2011) — Scientists from Finland and France have developed a new synchrotron X-ray technique that may revolutionize the chemical analysis of rare materials like meteoric rock samples or fossils. The results have been published on 29 May 2011 in Nature Materials as an advance online publication.

Life, as we know it, is based on the chemistry of carbon and oxygen. The three-dimensional distribution of their abundance and chemical bonds has been difficult to study up to now in samples where these elements were embedded deep inside other materials. Examples are tiny inclusions of possible water or other chemicals inside martian rock samples, fossils buried inside a lava rock, or minerals and chemical compounds within meteorites.

X-ray tomography, which is widely used in medicine and material science, is sensitive to the shape and texture of a given sample but cannot reveal chemical states at the macroscopic scale. For instance graphite and diamond both consist of pure carbon, but they differ in the chemical bond between the carbon atoms. This is why their properties are so radically different. Imaging the variations in atomic bonding has been surprisingly difficult, and techniques for imaging of chemical bonds are highly desirable in many fields like engineering and research in physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.

Now an international team of scientists from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France, has developed a novel technique that is suitable exactly for this purpose. The researchers use extremely bright X-rays from a synchrotron light source to form images of the chemical bond distribution of different carbon forms embedded deep in an opaque material; an achievement previously thought to be impossible without destroying the sample.

"Now I would love to try this on Martian or moon rocks. Our new technique can see not only which elements are present in any inclusions but also what kind of molecule or crystal they belong to. If the inclusion contains oxygen, we can tell whether the oxygen belongs to a water molecule. If it contains carbon, we can tell whether it is graphite, diamond-like, or some other carbon form. Just imagine finding tiny inclusions of water or diamond inside martian rock samples hidden deep inside the rock," says Simo Huotari from the University of Helsinki.

The newly developed method will give insights into the molecular level structure of many other interesting materials ranging, for example, from novel functional nanomaterials to fuel cells and new types of batteries.

The research was funded by the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the Academy of Finland, and the University of Helsinki.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Journal Reference:

Simo Huotari, Tuomas Pylkkänen, Roberto Verbeni, Giulio Monaco, Keijo Hämäläinen. Direct tomography with chemical-bond contrast. Nature Materials, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/NMAT3031

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here