SO(3) “Nuclear Physics” with ultracold Gases☆
- International Center for Theoretical Physics, 34151 Trieste (Italy)
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Innsbruck University, and Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria)
- Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland)
An ab initio calculation of nuclear physics from Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental SU(3) gauge theory of the strong interaction, remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we discuss the emergence of key elements of nuclear physics using an SO(3) lattice gauge theory as a toy model for QCD. We show that this model is accessible to state-of-the-art quantum simulation experiments with ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. First, we demonstrate that our model shares characteristic many-body features with QCD, such as the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry, its restoration at finite baryon density, as well as the existence of few-body bound states. Then we show that in the one-dimensional case, the dynamics in the gauge invariant sector can be encoded as a spin S=(3/2) Heisenberg model, i.e., as quantum magnetism, which has a natural realization with bosonic mixtures in optical lattices, and thus sheds light on the connection between non-Abelian gauge theories and quantum magnetism.
- OSTI ID:
- 22852243
- Journal Information:
- Annals of Physics, Journal Name: Annals of Physics Vol. 393; ISSN 0003-4916; ISSN APNYA6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The coupled cluster theory of quantum lattice systems
Color Superfluidity and ''Baryon'' Formation in Ultracold Fermions