Coherent manipulation of spin correlations in the Hubbard model (B4)

N. Wurz, C.F. Chan, M. Gall, J.H. Drewes, E. Cocchi, L.A. Miller, D. Pertot, F. Brennecke, and M. Köhl:

Phys. Rev. A 97, 051602(R) (2018)

🔓 arXiv:1709.08231 (2017)

We coherently manipulate spin correlations in a two-component atomic Fermi gas loaded into an optical lattice using spatially and time-resolved Ramsey spectroscopy combined with high-resolution in situ imaging. This technique allows us not only to imprint spin patterns but also to probe the static magnetic structure factor at an arbitrary wave vector, in particular, the staggered structure factor. From a measurement along the diagonal of the first Brillouin zone of the optical lattice, we determine the magnetic correlation length and the individual spatial spin correlators. At half filling, the staggered magnetic structure factor serves as a sensitive thermometer, which we employ to study the equilibration in the spin and density sector during a slow quench of the lattice depth.