Phasonic Spectroscopy of a Quantum Gas in a Quasicrystalline Lattice

Phasonic degrees of freedom are unique to quasiperiodic structures and play a central role in poorly understood properties of quasicrystals from excitation spectra to wave function statistics to electronic transport. However, phasons are challenging to access dynamically in the solid state due to th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2019-11, Vol.123 (22), p.223201-223201, Article 223201
Main Authors: Rajagopal, Shankari V, Shimasaki, Toshihiko, Dotti, Peter, Račiūnas, Mantas, Senaratne, Ruwan, Anisimovas, Egidijus, Eckardt, André, Weld, David M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electron transport
Energy spectra
Excitation spectra
Optical lattices
Phasons
Quasicrystals
Spectroscopy
Spectrum analysis
Wave functions
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Summary:Phasonic degrees of freedom are unique to quasiperiodic structures and play a central role in poorly understood properties of quasicrystals from excitation spectra to wave function statistics to electronic transport. However, phasons are challenging to access dynamically in the solid state due to their complex long-range character and the effects of disorder and strain. We report phasonic spectroscopy of a quantum gas in a one-dimensional quasicrystalline optical lattice. We observe that strong phasonic driving produces a nonperturbative high-harmonic plateau strikingly different from the effects of standard dipolar driving. Tuning the potential from crystalline to quasicrystalline, we identify spectroscopic signatures of quasiperiodicity and interactions and map the emergence of a multifractal energy spectrum, opening a path to direct imaging of the Hofstadter butterfly.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.223201