Exploring correlated hopping along a synthetic dimension in a strontium cavity QED system

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) has emerged as a promising platform for quantum science, with a particular strength in engineering long-range correlations between atoms, leading to recent applications in quantum sensing, computing, and simulation. A recent theory proposal [1] discussed prospects for a new interaction for the cavity QED toolbox: correlated hopping of atoms within a manifold of hyperfine sublevels acting as a synthetic ladder of states. Extending previous demonstrations of pair creation in atom-cavity systems [2], this proposed interaction induces atoms to coherently hop up or down several rungs of the ladder in pairs, fully exploring the multilevel synthetic dimension. Here, we present progress towards engineering this physics in an ensemble of 87-Sr atoms, which features a ladder of 10 sublevels in the F=9/2 ground state manifold. By applying detuned drives and utilizing cavity-mediated photon exchange interactions, we generate correlated hopping between sublevels while suppressing uncorrelated single-particle and collective Raman processes. We employ nondestructive, state-dependent cavity readout techniques to characterise correlations in all 10 sublevel populations. In addition, we plan to explore chiral dynamics within these sublevels.

[1] A. Chu, A. Piñeiro Orioli, D. Barberena, J. K. Thompson, and A. M. Rey, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, L022034 (2023).

[2] E. J. Davis, G. Bentsen, L. Homeier, T. Li, and M. H. Schleier-Smith, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 010405 (2019).