More than 30 years ago, Richard Feynman outlined the visionary concept of a quantum simulator for carrying out complex physics calculations. Today, his dream has become a reality in laboratories around the world. In my talk I will focus on the remarkable opportunities offered by ultracold quantum gases trapped in optical lattices to address fundamental physics questions ranging from condensed matter physics over statistical physics to high energy physics with table-top experiment.

For example, I will show how it has now become possible to image and control both bosonic and fermionic quantum matter with single atom sensitivity and single site resolution, thereby allowing one to directly image individual quantum fluctuations and non-local order parameters of a many-body system. I will also report on our new experiments on the first realization of many-body localization in interacting fermionic quantum gases in quasi-random potentials. These experiments address fundamental and longstanding open questions regarding thermalization and non-ergodic behaviour in a many-body system.

E-mail: [email protected]