Direct observation of coherent inter-orbital spin-exchange dynamics

TL;DR

This paper reports the first direct observation of coherent spin-exchange oscillations between different electronic orbitals in ultracold $^{173}$Yb fermions, providing insights into inter-orbital interactions and enabling quantum simulation of two-orbital magnetism.

Contribution

It presents the first direct measurement of inter-orbital spin-exchange dynamics in ultracold fermions, revealing exchange interaction strength in a model-independent way.

Findings

Observation of fast spin-exchange oscillations

Measurement of exchange interaction strength

Implications for quantum simulation of two-orbital models

Abstract

We report on the first direct observation of fast spin-exchange coherent oscillations between different long-lived electronic orbitals of ultracold $^{173}$Yb fermions. We measure, in a model-independent way, the strength of the exchange interaction driving this coherent process. This observation allows us to retrieve important information on the inter-orbital collisional properties of $^{173}$Yb atoms and paves the way to novel quantum simulations of paradigmatic models of two-orbital quantum magnetism.