Spontaneously Sliding Multipole Spin Density Waves in Cold Atoms

We report on the observation of spontaneously drifting coupled spin and quadrupolar density waves in the ground state of laser driven Rubidium atoms. These laser-cooled atomic ensembles exhibit spontaneous magnetism via light mediated interactions when submitted to optical feedback by a retroreflect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2024-04, Vol.132 (14), p.143402-143402, Article 143402
Main Authors: Labeyrie, G, Walker, J G M, Robb, G R M, Kaiser, R, Ackemann, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed Matter
Mathematical Physics
Physics
Quantum Physics
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Summary:We report on the observation of spontaneously drifting coupled spin and quadrupolar density waves in the ground state of laser driven Rubidium atoms. These laser-cooled atomic ensembles exhibit spontaneous magnetism via light mediated interactions when submitted to optical feedback by a retroreflecting mirror. Drift direction and chirality of the waves arise from spontaneous symmetry breaking. The observations demonstrate a novel transport process in out-of-equilibrium magnetic systems.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.143402