Emulating Solid-State Physics with a Hybrid System of Ultracold Ions and Atoms

TL;DR

This paper proposes a hybrid system of trapped ions and ultracold fermions to emulate solid-state physics phenomena, combining scalability, tunability, and high-fidelity detection in a controllable quantum platform.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for a hybrid ion-atom system that mimics solid-state physics, deriving the low-energy Hamiltonian and atom-phonon interactions.

Findings

Derivation of the low-energy Hamiltonian including atomic band structure

Expression for atom-phonon coupling in the hybrid system

Discussion of experimental implementation such as Peierls-like transition

Abstract

We propose and theoretically investigate a hybrid system composed of a crystal of trapped ions coupled to a cloud of ultracold fermions. The ions form a periodic lattice and induce a band structure in the atoms. This system combines the advantages of scalability and tunability of ultracold atomic systems with the high fidelity operations and detection offered by trapped ion systems. It also features close analogies to natural solid-state systems, as the atomic degrees of freedom couple to phonons of the ion lattice, thereby emulating a solid-state system. Starting from the microscopic many-body Hamiltonian, we derive the low energy Hamiltonian including the atomic band structure and give an expression for the atom-phonon coupling. We discuss possible experimental implementations such as a Peierls-like transition into a period-doubled dimerized state.