An Atomic View of Quantum Phase Transitions -- DeMarco 329 (5991): 523 -- Science

An Atomic View of Quantum Phase Transitions -- DeMarco 329 (5991): 523 -- Science: An artificial solid is created in optical lattice experiments by first cooling atoms trapped as a gas in ultrahigh vacuum to nanokelvin temperatures (3). The atoms are twhen captured in a lattice that is created by slowly turning on a combination of laser beams. The atoms play the role of the electrons orsuperconducting pairs of electrons in a solid, whereas the light substitutes for the underlying ionic crystal. Different crystal geometries can be produced depending on the arrangement of the lasers. The holographic technique used by Bakr et al. to create a square lattice is especially powerful because it can, in principle, produce any two-dimensional crystal geometry."