Interacting Quantum Gases of Lithium and Ytterbium

Abstract

This dissertation describes the development of a scientic apparatus for trapping ultracold quantum gases of atomic lithium and ytterbium, and discusses the studies of interactions between such particles under a range of experimental conditions. The atoms are sequentially magneto-optically trapped and cooled, and subsequently transferred to an optical dipole trap. It is shown that, due to the details of the electronic structure of the constituent species, as well as the large atomic mass of ytterbium, the system is well-suited for cooling to temperatures well below a microkelvin, and for subsequent studies of quantum few- and many-body physics. The dynamical behavior of the ultracold samples is studied at a wide range of interaction strengths. These are controlled by means of externally applied magnetic fields, or by optical transfer of atoms to long-lived, metastable orbitals. The work described in this paper paves the way for a large number of future experiments, including studies of quantum few-body physics in highly mass-mismatched systems and studies of dipolar matter using ultracold LiYb molecules.