Nate Gemelke Abstract

Nate Gemelke University of Chicago

"Studying Quantum Statistics With Ultracold Atoms"

I will discuss the use of ultracold atomic gases with effectively strong interactions to investigate both spontaneously broken symmetries and topological phases of matter. While the former subject describes the core of our understanding for both classical and quantum phase transitions, the latter represent a class of physically rare, and only recently appreciated forms of matter, driven primarily by the discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect in two dimensional electron gases.

As an example of broken symmetry, I will describe new studies of the superfluid - to - Mott - insulator transition with repulsively interacting atoms hopping on an optical lattice potential. New measures of local compressibility will be described based on high - resolution in-situ microscopy of these gases. I will outline ongoing studies of density fluctuations and correlation, their connection to the fluctuation - dissipation theorem, and future extension to studies of critically.