Realization of three- and four-body interactions between momentum states in a cavity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Luo, Chengyi; Zhang, Haoqing; Maruko, Chitose; Bohr, Eliot A.; Chu, Anjun; Rey, Ana Maria; Thompson, James K.
• 署名单位: National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adv0990
• 发表日期: 2025-11-27
• 页码: 925-929
• 关键词: higher-order interactions; random-energy model; MULTIBODY INTERACTIONS; exchange interactions; RING-EXCHANGE; quantum; gas

摘要

Spin Hamiltonians in condensed matter and quantum sensing typically utilize pairwise or two-body interactions between constituents in the material or ensemble. However, there is growing interest in exploring more general n-body interactions for n > 2. In this study, we realized an effective n = 3-body Hamiltonian interaction using an ensemble of laser-cooled atoms in a high-finesse optical cavity with the pseudospin 1/2 encoded by two atomic momentum states. We applied two dressing tones that induce the atoms to exchange photons via the cavity to realize a virtual six-photon process; lower-order interactions destructively interfered. We also observed signatures of a n = 4-body interaction mediated by a virtual eight-photon process. Our approach may be extensible to three-body interactions in multilevel systems or to even higher-order interactions.