Speaker: Uros Delic (University of Vienna)

Title: Many-body physics with arrays of silica particles: Tunable interactions and non-Hermitian dynamics

Abstract: Interactions control and drive the collective dynamics and emergence of correlations and patterns in many-body systems. Dissipative (i.e. non-conservative) interactions are especially interesting as they give rise to exotic non-equilibrium dynamics and generate novel topological phases. Moreover, they are a key ingredient to engineer non-reciprocal interactions, which have many applications for quantum sensing.

In my talk, I will introduce a novel many-body quantum system: a trap array of nanoparticles that interact via highly tunable light-induced dipole-dipole forces. I will show how we realize quantum control over the motion of a single particle and program arbitrary non-Hermitian dynamics in a particle array. Finally, I will present recent measurements of a driven-dissipative phase transition that stems from the non-reciprocal interaction, which demonstrates the potential of this system to explore complex non-equilibrium phenomena.