Assembling a Bose-Hubbard superfluid from tweezer-controlled single atoms
Abstract
Quantum simulation relies on the preparation and control of low-entropy many-body systems to reveal the behavior of classically intractable models. The development of new approaches for realizing such systems therefore represents a frontier in quantum science. Here we experimentally demonstrate a new protocol for generating ultracold, itinerant many-body states in a tunnel-coupled two-dimensional optical lattice. We do this by adiabatically connecting a near-ground-state-cooled array of up to 50 single strontium-86 atoms with a Bose-Hubbard superfluid. Through comparison with finite-temperature quantum-Monte-Carlo calculations, we estimate that the entropy per particle of the prepared many-body states is approximately , and that the achieved temperatures are consistent with a significant superfluid fraction. This represents the first time that itinerant many-body systems have been prepared from rearranged atoms, opening the door to bottom-up assembly of a wide range of neutral-atom and molecular systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2512.24374,
title = {Assembling a Bose-Hubbard superfluid from tweezer-controlled single atoms},
author = {William J. Eckner and Theodor Lukin Yelin and Alec Cao and Aaron W. Young and Nelson Darkwah Oppong and Lode Pollet and Adam M. Kaufman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.24374},
year = {2026}
}