Ultracold atoms in optical lattices exhibit a remarkable range of behavior and have become an indispensable tool for investigating many-body phenomena.

As such it is important to consider ways to probe these many-body systems so as to gain information about their properties. We consider off-resonant light scattering as one such probe of atoms in an optical lattice, and investigate how correlations within the system as well as the temperature can be recovered from the scattered light. We also examine how each scattering event perturbs the many-body state and build a model of consecutive scattering and measurement. Our model suggests that consecutive scattering leads to the localisation of atoms in space relative to one another and also to superposition states in position space.


Seminar, February 8, 2012, 15:00. Seminar Room

Hosted by Prof. Darrick Chang