Taming, slowing and trapping atoms with light
Cold is quantum, Quantum is cool!
We shape quantum matter
Multicolored lasers for a variety of atoms
Keeping our eyes on the quantum world
Join our ultracool group!
High technology for great science
Taming, slowing and trapping atoms with light

Welcome to the website of the Ultracold Quantum Gases group at the European Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy (LENS), the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence (Italy) and the Institute of Optics of the Italian National Research Council (CNR - INO). In our labs we use lasers and magnetic fields to produce the lowest temperatures of the Universe, just a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero...

At these temperatures, atoms stop moving and we can control them for a variety of different fundamental studies and applications. We can force atoms to arrange according to a periodic structure and simulate the behavior of crystalline solids and new materials. We can use the atoms as ultra-high accurate sensors to probe forces with the power of quantum mechanics. We can study how quantum particles combine together under the action of strong interactions and how superfluidity develops. We can use these ultracold atoms to process information and develop new quantum technologies.

Dress warmly and... follow us for this ultracold journey!

LAST NEWS

Florence-Innsbruck meeting

On October 30th-31st, we held the second Florence-Innsbruck joint meeting at the INO-CNR headquarters in Arcetri with the research groups on Ultracold Atoms from IQOQI and the University of Innsbruck. It was a great opportunity for the young researchers to discuss recent scientific advancements in a friendly atmosphere, surrounded by the beautiful setting of Arcetri. Many thanks to Giulia, Francesca, and Giacomo for the organization! See you in Innsbruck next year!

A dripping quantum liquid

Just as a thin water jet emerging from a tap, a quantum atomic filament may break up into droplets: surprisingly, under some circumstances, quantum gases behave like liquids. In our lab, we prepare a quantum droplet of 41K and 87Rb, and release it in an optical waveguide. The droplet expands along the waveguide up to a critical length, and then splits into two or more sub-droplets. Our results can be explained in terms of capillary instability, previously observed in a variety of physical systems, including ordinary liquids and superfluid helium, but not yet in the ultracold gas realm. Getting curious? Look it up on the arxiv!

L. Cavicchioli et al.
Dynamical formation of multiple quantum droplets in a Bose-Bose mixture
arXiv:2409.16017 (2024)

Energetics and quantumness of Fano coherence generation

In a multi-level quantum system Fano coherences stand for the formation of quantum coherences due to the interaction with the continuum of modes characterizing an incoherent process. In this paper we propose a V-type three-level quantum system on which we certify the presence of genuinely quantum traits underlying the generation of Fano coherences. We do this by determining work conditions that allows for the loss of positivity of the Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability distribution of the stochastic energy changes within the discrete system. We also show the existence of nonequilibrium regimes where the generation of Fano coherences leads to a non-negligible excess energy given by the amount of energy that is left over with respect to the energy of the system at the beginning of the transformation. Excess energy is attained provided the initial state of the discrete system is in a superposition of the energy eigenbasis. We conclude the paper by studying the thermodynamic efficiency of the whole process.

L. Donati et al.
Energetics and quantumness of Fano coherence generatio
Scientific Report 14, 20145 (2024)

Atoms in Tweezers!

We have atoms trapped in optical tweezers! The journey has been long, and the excitement in the lab was palpable when we saw the first signatures in fluorescence imaging. The next important step will be to implement light-assisted collisions and in-trap cooling to reach single atom occupancy per tweezer!

Broadband & Single Frequency Red MOT Achieved!

Big news from the lab! After months of hard work, we’ve successfully developed both a broadband red MOT and a single-frequency red MOT. The atom density is up to two orders of magnitude larger than in the blue MOT, while the temperature is approximately 10 micro Kelvin. Now we’re excited to take the next step—time to trap some atoms in optical tweezers!

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