Dated: February 23, 2024 | Philipp Lunt,1 Paul Hill,1 Johannes Reiter,1 Philipp Preiss,2,3 Maciej Gałka,1 and Selim Jochim1
The authors realize a Laughlin state of two rapidly rotating fermionic atoms in an optical tweezer, using spin-resolved imaging to sample the Laughlin wavefunction. They demonstrate the distinctive features of this state, including vortex distribution in relative motion, correlations in particle relative angles, and suppression of inter-particle interactions. The study lays the foundation for atom-by-atom assembly of fractional quantum Hall states in rotating atomic gases. The experimental setup involves a radially symmetric optical tweezer with a cigar-shaped potential, which is smoothly rotated to couple the particles to states with angular momentum. The Laughlin state is achieved by tuning the trap to an elliptical shape and introducing a total angular momentum of \(2\hbar\). The authors measure the density distribution of the Laughlin wavefunction, showing a rotationally symmetric vortex distribution in relative coordinates. They also extract relative angle correlations, which peak at a relative angle of \(\pi\), confirming the strongly correlated nature of the Laughlin state. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions, and the lifetime of the Laughlin state is measured to be \(191(21)\) ms, demonstrating its robustness against environmental noise. This work opens new avenues for exploring spinful fractional quantum Hall states with ultracold atoms.The authors realize a Laughlin state of two rapidly rotating fermionic atoms in an optical tweezer, using spin-resolved imaging to sample the Laughlin wavefunction. They demonstrate the distinctive features of this state, including vortex distribution in relative motion, correlations in particle relative angles, and suppression of inter-particle interactions. The study lays the foundation for atom-by-atom assembly of fractional quantum Hall states in rotating atomic gases. The experimental setup involves a radially symmetric optical tweezer with a cigar-shaped potential, which is smoothly rotated to couple the particles to states with angular momentum. The Laughlin state is achieved by tuning the trap to an elliptical shape and introducing a total angular momentum of \(2\hbar\). The authors measure the density distribution of the Laughlin wavefunction, showing a rotationally symmetric vortex distribution in relative coordinates. They also extract relative angle correlations, which peak at a relative angle of \(\pi\), confirming the strongly correlated nature of the Laughlin state. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions, and the lifetime of the Laughlin state is measured to be \(191(21)\) ms, demonstrating its robustness against environmental noise. This work opens new avenues for exploring spinful fractional quantum Hall states with ultracold atoms.