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Quantum simulations with ultracold quantum gases

Abstract

Ultracold quantum gases offer a unique setting for quantum simulation of interacting many-body systems. The high degree of controllability, the novel detection possibilities and the extreme physical parameter regimes that can be reached in these ‘artificial solids’ provide an exciting complementary set-up compared with natural condensed-matter systems, much in the spirit of Feynman’s vision of a quantum simulator. Here we review recent advances in technology and discuss progress in a number of areas where experimental results have already been obtained.

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Figure 1: Equations of state of interacting ultracold Fermi gases.
Figure 2: Single-atom resolved images of a BEC and Mott insulators.
Figure 3: Coherent control of single spins in an optical lattice.
Figure 4: Realization of a quantum Ising model using a one-dimensional Mott insulator in a strong potential gradient.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Zoller and E. Altman for many useful discussions during the writing of this review article.

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Correspondence to Immanuel Bloch.

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Bloch, I., Dalibard, J. & Nascimbène, S. Quantum simulations with ultracold quantum gases. Nature Phys 8, 267–276 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2259

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