Disorder-induced Localization in a Strongly Correlated Atomic Hubbard Gas

TL;DR

This study demonstrates disorder-induced localization in a strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas, providing experimental insights into many-body localization phenomena in a controlled quantum system.

Contribution

First experimental observation of disorder-induced localization in a strongly correlated atomic Fermi gas, linking it to many-body localization theories.

Findings

Disorder induces insulating states in the Fermi gas.

Interaction-driven delocalization and localization observed.

Localization persists at higher temperatures, consistent with many-body localization.

Abstract

We observe the emergence of a disorder-induced insulating state in a strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas trapped in an optical lattice. This closed quantum system free of a thermal reservoir realizes the disordered Fermi-Hubbard model, which is a minimal model for strongly correlated electronic solids. In measurements of disorder-induced localization obtained via mass transport, we detect interaction-driven delocalization and localization that persists as the temperature of the gas is raised. These behaviors are consistent with many-body localization, which is a novel paradigm for understanding localization in interacting quantum systems at non-zero temperature.