Cooling Atomic Gases With Disorder

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method to cool atomic gases by using disorder and entropy management, enabling exploration of complex quantum phases like magnetism and superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces a disorder-based cooling technique and demonstrates, via quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the potential to reach low temperatures necessary for quantum phase studies.

Findings

Approach can reach the Néel temperature in 3D Hubbard model.

Disorder regime maintains atom transport and equilibration.

Method is feasible with current experimental parameters.

Abstract

Cold atomic gases have proven capable of emulating a number of fundamental condensed matter phenomena including Bose-Einstein condensation, the Mott transition, Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov pairing and the quantum Hall effect. Cooling to a low enough temperature to explore magnetism and exotic superconductivity in lattices of fermionic atoms remains a challenge. We propose a method to produce a low temperature gas by preparing it in a disordered potential and following a constant entropy trajectory to deliver the gas into a non-disordered state which exhibits these incompletely understood phases. We show, using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, that we can approach the Ne\'el temperature of the three-dimensional Hubbard model for experimentally achievable parameters. Recent experimental estimates suggest the randomness required lies in a regime where atom transport and equilibration are still robust.