Phase Transitions in Engineered Ultracold Quantum Systems

The study of quantum degenerate gases has many applications in topics such as condensed matter dynamics, precision measurements and quantum phase transitions. We built an apparatus to create 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and generated, via optical and magnetic interactions, novel quantum systems in which we studied the contained phase transitions. For our first experiment we quenched multi-spin component BECs from a miscible to dynamically unstable immiscible state. The transition rapidly drives any spin fluctuations with a coherent growth process driving the formation of numerous spin polarized domains. At much longer times these domains coarsen as the system approaches equilibrium. For our second experiment we explored the magnetic phases present in a spin-1 spin-orbit coupled BEC and the contained quantum phase transitions. We observed ferromagnetic and unpolarized phases which are stabilized by the spin-orbit coupling’s explicit locking between spin and motion. These two phases are separated by a critical curve containing both first-order and second-order transitions joined at a critical point. The narrow first-order transition gives rise to long-lived metastable states. For our third experiment we prepared independent BECs in a double-well potential, with an artificial magnetic field between the BECs. We transitioned to a single BEC by lowering the barrier while expanding the region of artificial field to cover the resulting single BEC. We compared the vortex distribution nucleated via conventional dynamics to those produced by our procedure, showing our dynamical process populates vortices much more rapidly and in larger number than conventional nucleation.

Degenerate Gases of Strontium for Studies of Quantum Magnetism

We describe the construction and characterization of a new apparatus that can produce degenerate quantum gases of strontium. The realization of degenerate gases is an important first step toward future studies of quantum magnetism. Three of the four stable isotopes of strontium have been cooled into the degenerate regime. The experiment can make nearly pure Bose-Einstein condensates containing approximately 1x10^4 atoms, for strontium-86, and approximately 4x10^5 atoms, for strontium-84. We have also created degenerate Fermi gases of strontium-87 with a reduced temperature, T/T_F of approximately 0.2. The apparatus will be able to produce Bose-Einstein condensates of strontium-88 with straightforward modifications. We also report the first experimental and theoretical results from the strontium project. We have developed a technique to accelerate the continuous loading of strontium atoms into a magnetic trap. By applying a laser addressing the 3P1 to 3S1 transition in our magneto-optical trap, the rate at which atoms populate the magnetically-trapped 3P2 state can be increased by up to 65%. Quantum degenerate gases of atoms in the metastable 3P0 and 3P2 states are a promising platform for quantum simulation of systems with long-range interactions. We have performed an initial numerical study of a method to transfer the ground state degenerate gases that we can currently produce into one of the metastable states via a three-photon transition. Numerical simulations of the Optical Bloch equations governing the three-photon transition indicate that >90% of a ground state degenerate gas can be transferred into a metastable state.

Advanced Analytical Microscopy at the Nanoscale: Applications in Wide Bandgap and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Materials

The atomic-level structure and chemistry of materials ultimately dictate their observed macroscopic properties and behavior. As such, an intimate understanding of these characteristics allows for better materials engineering and improvements in the resulting devices. In our work, two material systems were investigated using advanced electron and ion microscopy techniques, relating the measured nanoscale traits to overall device performance. First, transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (TEM-EELS) were used to analyze interfacial states at the semiconductor/oxide interface in wide bandgap SiC microelectronics. This interface contains defects that significantly diminish SiC device performance, and their fundamental nature remains generally unresolved. The impacts of various microfabrication techniques were explored, examining both current commercial and next-generation processing strategies. In further investigations, machine learning techniques were applied to the EELS data, revealing previously hidden Si, C, and O bonding states at the interface, which help explain the origins of mobility enhancement in SiC devices. Finally, the impacts of SiC bias temperature stressing on the interfacial region were explored. In the second system, focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) was used to reconstruct 3D models of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes. Since the specific degradation mechanisms of SOFC cathodes are poorly understood, FIB/SEM and TEM were used to analyze and quantify changes in the microstructure during performance degradation. Novel strategies for microstructure calculation from FIB-nanotomography data were developed and applied to LSM-YSZ and LSCF-GDC composite cathodes, aged with environmental contaminants to promote degradation. In LSM-YSZ, migration of both La and Mn cations to the grain boundaries of YSZ was observed using TEM-EELS. Few substantial changes however, were observed in the overall microstructure of the cells, correlating with a lack of performance degradation induced by the H2O. Using similar strategies, a series of LSCF-GDC cathodes were analyzed, aged in H2O, CO2, and Cr-vapor environments. FIB/SEM observation revealed considerable formation of secondary phases within these cathodes, and quantifiable modifications of the microstructure. In particular, Cr-poisoning was observed to cause substantial byproduct formation, which was correlated with drastic reductions in cell performance.