A proposal for measuring correlation functions in interacting gases

TL;DR

This paper introduces an experimental method to measure and scale correlation functions in interacting cold atomic gases during expansion, enabling more precise analysis of their quantum properties.

Contribution

It presents a novel experimental approach that allows scaling of correlation functions in anisotropic, interacting gases, improving measurement accuracy and resolution.

Findings

Method enables scaling of all diagonal correlation functions during expansion

Requires tunable interactions via Feshbach resonance and independent trap manipulation

Applicable to various systems with potential experimental challenges

Abstract

We propose an experimental method that allows for scaling of all the diagonal correlation functions (such as the density and pair correlation function) during the expansion of harmonically trapped cold atomic gases with arbitrary interactions even if the trapping is anisotropic. To do this we require that the interaction be tunable by the use of a Feshbach resonance and that the trapping potential can be manipulated independently along the axial and radial directions. This permits a much greater accuracy and resolution in measurements of correlation functions. We explain the explicit control procedure, outline the scaling ansatz that we use and briefly discuss the systems where it could be applied as well as possible experimental obstacles to its implementation.