Spatial quantum noise interferometry in expanding ultracold atom clouds

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates spatial quantum noise interferometry in ultracold atom clouds, revealing underlying lattice order through quantum correlations during expansion, offering a new tool for probing complex quantum phases.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of HBT interferometry to measure spatial correlations in ultracold atoms, linking quantum noise to lattice order.

Findings

Strong quantum correlations observed in expanding atom clouds.

Correlations reflect underlying lattice ordering.

Method can identify complex quantum phases.

Abstract

In a pioneering experiment, Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) demonstrated that noise correlations could be used to probe the properties of a (bosonic) particle source through quantum statistics; the effect relies on quantum interference between possible detection paths for two indistinguishable particles. HBT correlations -- together with their fermionic counterparts -- find numerous applications, ranging from quantum optics to nuclear and elementary particle physics. Spatial HBT interferometry has been suggested as a means to probe hidden order in strongly correlated phases of ultracold atoms. Here we report such a measurement on the Mott insulator phase of a rubidium Bose gas as it is released from an optical lattice trap. We show that strong periodic quantum correlations exist between density fluctuations in the expanding atom cloud. These spatial correlations reflect the underlying ordering in the lattice, and find a natural interpretation in terms of a multiple-wave HBT interference effect. The method should provide a useful tool for identifying complex quantum phases of ultracold bosonic and fermionic atoms.