Quantum gas microscopy with spin, atom-number and multi-layer readout

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new quantum gas microscopy technique that enables site-resolved detection of atom number, spin states, and multilayer structures in ultracold atom systems, facilitating advanced quantum simulations.

Contribution

It presents a novel toolbox for preparing, controlling, and imaging bilayer quantum gases with site resolution, including occupation-dependent transport and spin-resolved readout.

Findings

First number- and site-resolved images of Mott insulator structure

Observation of antiferromagnetic ordering across a quantum phase transition

Demonstration of spin-resolved detection in a bilayer system

Abstract

Atom- and site-resolved experiments with ultracold atoms in optical lattices provide a powerful platform for the simulation of strongly correlated materials. In this letter, we present a toolbox for the preparation, control and site-resolved detection of a tunnel-coupled bilayer degenerate quantum gas. Using a collisional blockade, we engineer occupation-dependent inter-plane transport which enables us to circumvent light-assisted pair loss during imaging and count n=0 to n=3 atoms per site. We obtain the first number- and site-resolved images of the Mott insulator "wedding cake" structure and observe the emergence of antiferromagnetic ordering across a magnetic quantum phase transition. We are further able to employ the bilayer system for spin-resolved readout of a mixture of two hyperfine states. This work opens the door to direct detection of entanglement and Kosterlitz-Thouless-type phase dynamics, as well as studies of coupled planar quantum materials.