Two-Dimensional Homogeneous Fermi Gases.

We report on the experimental realization of homogeneous two-dimensional (2D) Fermi gases trapped in a box potential. In contrast to harmonically trapped gases, these homogeneous 2D systems are ideally suited to probe local as well as nonlocal properties of strongly interacting many-body systems. As a first benchmark experiment, we use a local probe to measure the density of a noninteracting 2D Fermi gas as a function of the chemical potential and find excellent agreement with the corresponding equation of state. We then perform matter wave focusing to extract the momentum distribution of the system and directly observe Pauli blocking in a near unity occupation of momentum states. Finally, we measure the momentum distribution of an interacting homogeneous 2D gas in the crossover between attractively interacting fermions and bosonic dimers.

Calibrating high intensity absorption imaging of ultracold atoms.

Absorption imaging of ultracold atoms is the foundation for quantitative extraction of information from experiments with ultracold atoms. Due to the limited exposure time available in these systems, the signal-to-noise ratio is largest for high intensity absorption imaging where the intensity of the imaging light is on the order of the saturation intensity. In this case, the absolute value of the intensity of the imaging light enters as an additional parameter making it more sensitive to systematic errors. Here, we present a novel and robust technique to determine the imaging beam intensity in units of the effective saturation intensity to better than 5%. We do this by measuring the momentum transferred to the atoms by the imaging light while varying its intensity. We further utilize the method to quantify the purity of the polarization of the imaging light and to determine the correct imaging detuning.

Critical velocity in the BEC-BCS crossover.

We map out the critical velocity in the crossover from Bose-Einstein condensation to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluidity with ultracold ^{6}Li gases. A small attractive potential is dragged along lines of constant column density. The rate of the induced heating increases steeply above a critical velocity v_{c}. In the same samples, we measure the speed of sound v_{s} by exciting density waves and compare the results to the measured values of v_{c}. We perform numerical simulations in the Bose-Einstein condensation regime and find very good agreement, validating the approach. In the strongly correlated regime our measurements of v_{c} provide a testing ground for theoretical approaches.

Note: Suppression of kHz-frequency switching noise in digital micro-mirror devices.

High resolution digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs) make it possible to produce nearly arbitrary light fields with high accuracy, reproducibility, and low optical aberrations. However, using these devices to trap and manipulate ultracold atomic systems for, e.g., quantum simulation is often complicated by the presence of kHz-frequency switching noise. Here we demonstrate a simple hardware extension that solves this problem and makes it possible to produce truly static light fields. This modification leads to a 47 fold increase in the time that we can hold ultracold 6Li atoms in a dipole potential created with the DMD. Finally, we provide reliable and user friendly APIs written in Matlab and Python to control the DMD.

A highly versatile optical fibre vacuum feed-through.

Coupling light into a vacuum system is a non-trivial problem, requiring the use of a specialized feed-through. This feed-through must be both leak tight and offer a low optical loss if it is to be suitable for general use. In this paper, we report on the development of an extremely simple yet versatile, low cost, demountable optical fiber vacuum feed-through based on the modification of a standard optical fiber bulkhead connector. The modified connector was found to have a leak rate of 6.6 ± 2.1 × 10(-6) mbar l/s and an optical loss of -0.41 ± 0.28 dB, making it suitable for use in high vacuum applications.