Quantum Simulation of Ultrafast Dynamics Using Trapped Ultracold Atoms

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using trapped ultracold atoms to simulate ultrafast electronic dynamics, achieving a temporal magnification of up to twelve orders of magnitude, providing a complementary approach to laser-based ultrafast studies.

Contribution

It demonstrates that cold atom quantum simulation can emulate ultrafast processes, enabling new insights into atomic physics with slower, controllable systems.

Findings

Successful emulation of ultrafast laser effects with cold atoms

Control of excitation spectra through potential shaping

Observation of sub-cycle unbinding dynamics

Abstract

Ultrafast electronic dynamics are typically studied using pulsed lasers. We demonstrate a complementary experimental approach: quantum simulation of ultrafast dynamics using trapped ultracold atoms. Counter-intuitively, this technique emulates some of the fastest processes in atomic physics with some of the slowest, leading to a temporal magnification factor of up to twelve orders of magnitude. In these experiments, time-varying forces on neutral atoms in the ground state of a tunable optical trap emulate the electric fields of a pulsed laser acting on bound charged particles. We demonstrate the correspondence with ultrafast science by a sequence of experiments: nonlinear spectroscopy of a many-body bound state, control of the excitation spectrum by potential shaping, observation of sub-cycle unbinding dynamics during strong few-cycle pulses, and direct measurement of carrier-envelope phase dependence of the response to an ultrafast-equivalent pulse. These results establish cold atom quantum simulation as a complementary tool for studying ultrafast dynamics.