Quantum Shake

Physicists use classical concepts to decipher strange quantum behaviors in an ultracold gas

September 9, 2020

There they were, in all their weird quantum glory: ultracold lithium atoms in the optical trap operated by UC Santa Barbara undergraduate student Alec Cao and his colleagues. Held by lasers in a regular, lattice formation and “driven” by pulses of energy, these atoms were doing crazy things.