Two-dimensional superexchange-mediated magnetization dynamics in an optical lattice

R. C. Brown, R. Wyllie, S. B. Koller, E. A. Goldschmidt, M. Foss-Feig, J. V. Porto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The interplay of magnetic exchange interactions and tunneling underlies many complex quantum phenomena observed in real materials. We study nonequilibrium magnetization dynamics in an extended two-dimensional (2D) system by loading effective spin-1/2 bosons into a spin-dependent optical lattice and use the lattice to separately control the resonance conditions for tunneling and superexchange. After preparing a nonequilibrium antiferromagnetically ordered state, we observe relaxation dynamics governed by two wellseparated rates, which scale with the parameters associated with superexchange and tunneling. With tunneling off-resonantly suppressed, we observe superexchange-dominated dynamics over two orders of magnitude in magnetic coupling strength. Our experiment will serve as a benchmark for future theoretical work as the detailed dynamics of this 2D, strongly correlated, and far-from-equilibrium quantum system remain out of reach of current computational techniques.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)540-544
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume348
Issue number6234
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2015
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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