We experimentally investigate the quantum criticality and Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) behavior within one-dimensional (1D) ultracold atomic gases. Based on the measured density profiles at different temperatures, the universal scaling laws of thermodynamic quantities are observed. The quantum critical regime and the relevant crossover temperatures are determined through the double-peak structure of the specific heat. In the TLL regime, we obtain the Luttinger parameter by probing sound propagation. Furthermore, a characteristic power-law behavior emerges in the measured momentum distributions of the 1D ultracold gas, confirming the existence of the TLL.

A quantum heat engine (QHE) based on the interaction driving of a many-particle working medium is introduced. The cycle alternates isochoric heating and cooling strokes with both interaction-driven processes that are simultaneously isochoric and isentropic. When the working substance is confined in a tight waveguide, the efficiency of the cycle becomes universal at low temperatures and governed by the ratio of velocities of a Luttinger liquid. We demonstrate the performance of the engine with an interacting Bose gas as a working medium and show that the average work per particle is maximum at criticality. We further discuss a work outcoupling mechanism based on the dependence of the interaction strength on the external spin degrees of freedom.

In this Rapid Communication, we propose a protocol to reverse a quantum many-body dynamic process. We name it “many-body echo” because the underlying physics is closely related to the spin echo effect in nuclear magnetic resonance systems. We consider a periodical modulation of the interaction strength in a weakly interacting Bose condensate, which resonantly excites quasiparticles from the condensate. A dramatic phenomenon is that, after pausing the interaction modulation for half a period and then continuing on with the same modulation, nearly all the excited quasiparticles in the resonance modes will be absorbed back into the condensate. During the intermediate half-period, the free evolution introduces a $\pi$ phase, which plays a role reminiscent of that played by the $\pi$ pulse in the spin echo. Comparing our protocol with another one implemented by the Chicago group in a recent experiment, we find that ours is more effective at reversing the many-body process. The difference between these two schemes manifests the physical effect of the micromotion in the Floquet theory.

A central quantity of importance for ultracold atoms is contact, which measures two-body correlations at short distances in dilute systems. It appears in universal relations among thermodynamic quantities, such as large momentum tails, energy and dynamic structure factors, through the renowned Tan relations. However, a conceptual question remains open as to whether or not contact can signify phase transitions that are insensitive to short-range physics. Here we show that, near a continuous classical or quantum phase transition, contact exhibits a variety of critical behaviours, including scaling laws and critical exponents that are uniquely determined by the universality class of the phase transition, and a constant contact per particle. We also use a prototypical exactly solvable model to demonstrate these critical behaviours in one-dimensional strongly interacting fermions. Our work establishes an intrinsic connection between the universality of dilute many-body systems and universal critical phenomena near a phase transition.

The degenerate Bose–Fermi (BF) mixtures in one dimension present a novel realization of two decoupled Luttinger liquids with bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom at low temperatures. However, the transport properties of such decoupled Luttinger liquids of charges is little known. Here we report on the transport properties of one-dimensional (1D) BF mixtures with delta-function interactions. The initial state is set up as the semi-infinite halves of two 1D BF mixtures with different temperatures, joined together at the time t = 0 and the junction point x = 0. Using the Bethe ansatz solution, we first rigorously prove the existence of conserved charges for both the bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom, preserving the Euler-type continuity equations. Applying generalized hydrodynamics, we then analytically obtain the distributions of the densities and currents of the local conserved quantities which solely depend on the ratio ξ = x / t . The left and right moving quasiparticle excitations of the two halves form multiple segmented light-cone hydrodynamics that display ballistic transport of the conserved charge densities and currents in different degrees of freedom. Such profiles reveal a novel dynamical separation of the two Luttinger liquids of fermionic and bosonic atoms in 1D. Our analytical results provide a deep understanding of the role of interaction and quantum statistical effects in quantum transport.