"Aspects and applications of modulated quantum matter," with Jeremy Tanlimco, graduate researcher at University of California Santa Barbara's Weld Lab
Abstract: A quantum system undergoing periodic driving can exhibit unusual behavior and properties: dynamical localization, Floquet-engineered band structures, and deeply out-of-equilibrium steady states. We apply three different drive schemes to ultracold atoms to probe the consequences and applications of such dynamics. In the first experiment, a condensate subjected to a periodically pulsed optical lattice enabled the first observation of the quantum boomerang effect, whereby wavepackets launched into a disordered medium counterintuitively turn around and return to their initial position. In the second experiment, amplitude modulation of an optical lattice creates "magic" band structures enabling a novel noise-immune protocol for trapped atom interferometry. In the final experiment, atoms between movable repulsive optical barriers simulate an optical Fabry-Pérot cavity with a relativistically accelerated mirror. Results confirm theoretical predictions that photons in such a strongly driven cavity accumulate into a single bright trajectory. This phenomenon mimics the evolution of light cones at event horizons and supports applications in pulse generation and signal compression.
