Dipolar quantum solids emerging in a Hubbard quantum simulator

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the realization of novel quantum phases, including dipolar quantum solids and stripe-ordered states, in a lattice system of ultracold magnetic erbium atoms with long-range dipolar interactions, using quantum gas microscopy.

Contribution

It introduces the experimental observation of quantum phase transitions and metastable states driven by tunable long-range dipolar interactions in a Hubbard-like lattice system.

Findings

Observation of superfluid to dipolar quantum solid transition

Control of stripe order via dipole orientation

Emergence of metastable stripe-ordered states during non-adiabatic transitions

Abstract

In quantum mechanical many-body systems, long-range and anisotropic interactions promote rich spatial structure and can lead to quantum frustration, giving rise to a wealth of complex, strongly correlated quantum phases. Long-range interactions play an important role in nature; however, quantum simulations of lattice systems have largely not been able to realize such interactions. A wide range of efforts are underway to explore long-range interacting lattice systems using polar molecules, Rydberg atoms, optical cavities, and magnetic atoms. Here, we realize novel quantum phases in a strongly correlated lattice system with long-range dipolar interactions using ultracold magnetic erbium atoms. As we tune the dipolar interaction to be the dominant energy scale in our system, we observe quantum phase transitions from a superfluid into dipolar quantum solids, which we directly detect using quantum gas microscopy with accordion lattices. Controlling the interaction anisotropy by orienting the dipoles enables us to realize a variety of stripe ordered states. Furthermore, by transitioning non-adiabatically through the strongly correlated regime, we observe the emergence of a range of metastable stripe-ordered states. This work demonstrates that novel strongly correlated quantum phases can be realized using long-range dipolar interaction in optical lattices, opening the door to quantum simulations of a wide range of lattice models with long-range and anisotropic interactions.