For the past two decades harmonically trapped ultracold atomic gases have been used with
great success to study fundamental many-body physics in flexible experimental settings.
However, the resulting gas density inhomogeneity in those traps has made it challenging to
study paradigmatic uniform-system physics (such as critical behavior near phase transitions) or
complex quantum dynamics. The realization of homogeneous quantum gases trapped in optical
boxes has been a milestone in quantum simulation [1]. These textbook systems have proved to
be a powerful playground by simplifying the interpretation of experimental measurements, by
making more direct connections to theories of the many-body problem that generally rely on the
translational symmetry of the system, and by altogether enabling previously inaccessible
experiments.
I will give an overview of recent studies on the quantum many-body physics of fermions in a box
of light. These studies span the few-body recombination physics of multi-component fermions
[2,3], the observation of the fermionic quantum Joule-Thomson effect [4], the strong-drive
spectroscopy of Fermi-polaron quasiparticles [5], and the observation of the Lindhard response
[6]. These studies have led to some surprising results (including an open puzzle on three-
component fermions [3]), highlighting how spatial homogeneity not only provide quantitative
advantages, but can also unveil truly unexpected outcomes.
[1] N. Navon, R.P. Smith, Z. Hadzibabic, Nature Phys. 17, 1334 (2021)
[2] Y. Ji et al., Phys. Lev. Lett 129, 203402 (2022)
[3] G.L. Schumacher et al., arXiv:2301.02237, Nature Comm. in press (2025)
[4] Y. Ji et al., Phys. Lev. Lett 132, 153402 (2024)
[5] F.J. Vivanco et al., arXiv:2308.05746, Nature Phys. in press (2025)
[6] S. Huang et al., arXiv:2407.13769, Phys. Rev. X in press (2025)
*You will need to bring your cell phone, so you can sign in using the new QR code outside of ATL 2400. You will need to submit your first and last name, email, and affiliation on the form by 11:15am to be able to get lunch after the seminar. Lunch is first come, first served.*