Article abstract
Nature Physics 4, 878 - 883 (2008)
Published online: 7 September 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys1073
Subject Categories: Quantum physics | Fluid dynamics | Atomic and molecular physics
Quantum states and phases in driven open quantum systems with cold atoms
S. Diehl1,2, A. Micheli1,2, A. Kantian1,2, B. Kraus1,2, H. P. Büchler3 & P. Zoller1,2
Abstract
An open quantum system, the time evolution of which is governed by a master equation, can be driven into a given pure quantum state by an appropriate design of the coupling between the system and the reservoir. This provides a route towards preparing many-body states and non-equilibrium quantum phases by quantum-reservoir engineering. Here, we discuss the example of a driven dissipative Bose–Einstein condensate of bosons and of paired fermions, where atoms in an optical lattice are coupled to a bath of Bogoliubov excitations and the atomic current represents local dissipation. In the absence of interactions, the lattice gas is driven into a pure state with long-range order. Weak interactions lead to a weakly mixed state, which in three dimensions can be understood as a depletion of the condensate, and in one and two dimensions exhibits properties reminiscent of a Luttinger liquid or a Kosterlitz–Thouless critical phase at finite temperature, with the role of the 'finite temperature' taken by the interactions.
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Institute for Theoretical Physics III, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany
Correspondence to: S. Diehl1,2 e-mail: Sebastian.Diehl@uibk.ac.at
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