Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates are a flexible experimental platform to engineer synthetic quantum many-body systems. In particular, they host the so-called stripe phase, an instance of a supersolid state of matter. The peculiar excitation spectrum of the stripe phase, a definite footprint of its supersolidity, has been difficult to measure experimentally. In this work, we performed in situ imaging of the stripes and directly observed both superfluid and crystal excitations. We investigated superfluid hydrodynamics and revealed a stripe compression mode, thus demonstrating that the system possesses a compressible crystalline structure. Through the frequency softening of this mode, we located the supersolid transition point. Our results establish spin-orbit-coupled supersolids as ideal systems to investigate supersolidity and its rich dynamics.
Source: Science
Authors: C. S. Chisholm, S. Hirthe, V. B. Makhalov, R. Ramos, R. Vatré, J. Cabedo, A. Celi, L. Tarruell
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Centres de Recerca de Catalunya, Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, QuantERA, Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: G1124226719, G1175115578, G1188902550, G121809054, G1855990336, G2064873908, G2066502545, G210041235, G2262748287, G2309174360, G2355262757, G2601397997, G2660406951, G2756433129, G279363373, G288263039, G3005324705, G300979063, G34346518, G3480869486, G3681454997, G4042783231, G425668148, G430777504, G4920849106, G5080475149, G5195188938, Unconventional Phases of Ultracold Quantum Matter with Competing Interactions, G5421974903, Exotic phases in Raman-coupled quantum gases, FOR 2414: Artificial Gauge Fields and Interacting Topological Phases in Ultracold Atoms, G575169067, G5805502524, G5852091828, QuantERA II ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies, ICFOstepstone PhD Programme for Early-Stage Researchers in Photonics, G6552004136, G6656126374, G69051668, G704744937, G7084143925, G7579677060, G7604509605, G8004996335, G8637226926, G8665153912, G897484643, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W4405626947