CMSP Seminar @ICTP EULER, Tuesday 3 July at 2 p.m.. - Francesco SCAZZA

[CM Section]

Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics Seminar

KINDLY NOTE VENUE AND TIME

Tuesday 3 July at 2 p.m.
Euler Lecture Room, terrace level, Leonardo building
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Ultracold Atoms with SU(N) Symmetry

Francesco SCAZZA
LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence

Abstract:
The Fermi-Hubbard model is a cornerstone of modern condensed matter 
theory. It describes interacting electrons in solids, notably featuring 
a metal to Mott insulator transition. In its extended SU(N>2)-symmetric 
form, it has already attracted much interest in the context of 
multi-orbital materials such as transition-metal oxides. In addition, it 
has been predicted to exhibit novel quantum magnetic phases and spin 
liquids with topological order. In this talk, I will give a general 
introduction to the SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model and, after discussing its 
general features, I will present its experimental realization with 
ultracold alkaline-earth atoms in optical lattices. To this aim, I will 
first describe in detail how SU(N)-symmetry emerges for fermionic atoms 
with alkaline-earth-like electronic structure. Owing to the existence of 
metastable excited states as well as to the strong decoupling between 
the nuclear and the electronic angular momenta, these atoms are 
particularly well suited for the investigation of SU(N) symmetric models 
with orbital degrees of freedom. I will then present some experimental 
results obtained using ultracold ytterbium atoms trapped in a 
three-dimensional optical lattice. In particular, I will report on the 
study of the equation of state of such system in various interaction 
regimes and for distinct values of N, directly showing the emergence of 
an SU(N)-symmetric incompressible Mott insulating phase. I will finally 
discuss perspectives towards probing novel SU(N) magnetic phases in 
optical lattices.