Two-dimensional supersolidity in a dipolar quantum gas

authored by
Matthew A. Norcia, Claudia Politi, Lauritz Klaus, Elena Poli, Maximilian Sohmen, Manfred J. Mark, Russell N. Bisset, Luis Santos, Francesca Ferlaino
Abstract

Supersolid states simultaneously feature properties typically associated with a solid and with a superfluid. Like a solid, they possess crystalline order, manifesting as a periodic modulation of the particle density; but unlike a typical solid, they also have superfluid properties, resulting from coherent particle delocalization across the system. Such states were initially envisioned in the context of bulk solid helium, as a possible answer to the question of whether a solid could have superfluid properties1–5. Although supersolidity has not been observed in solid helium (despite much effort)6, ultracold atomic gases provide an alternative approach, recently enabling the observation and study of supersolids with dipolar atoms7–16. However, unlike the proposed phenomena in helium, these gaseous systems have so far only shown supersolidity along a single direction. Here we demonstrate the extension of supersolid properties into two dimensions by preparing a supersolid quantum gas of dysprosium atoms on both sides of a structural phase transition similar to those occurring in ionic chains17–20, quantum wires21,22 and theoretically in chains of individual dipolar particles23,24. This opens the possibility of studying rich excitation properties25–28, including vortex formation29–31, and ground-state phases with varied geometrical structure7,32 in a highly flexible and controllable system.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Theoretical Physics
QuantumFrontiers
External Organisation(s)
Austrian Academy of Sciences
University of Innsbruck
Type
Article
Journal
NATURE
Volume
596
Pages
357-361
No. of pages
5
ISSN
0028-0836
Publication date
19.08.2021
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General
Electronic version(s)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.05555 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03725-7 (Access: Closed)