A Sweet Spot for Quantum Particles (IMAGE)

ETH Zurich Department of Physics

A Sweet Spot for Quantum Particles

Caption

In a one-dimensional periodic potential, represented by the teeth and notches of a Toblerone bar, there is no free flow of electrons if exactly two of them (pictured here as pairs of gummy bears) occupy each notch, due to Pauli exclusion principle. Surprisingly, a similar insulating behavior can be observed with ultracold fermionic atoms that strongly attract each other, thus forming a so-called Luther-Emery liquid.

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(Image: Esslinger group/ETH Zurich)

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