Towards a Fermi Gas Microscope with Tunable Lattice Geometry

We report on progress towards a next-generation optical lattice for quantum gas microscopy of ultracold fermionic lithium. By exploiting the interference between different lattice arms, the lattice geometry may be tuned to realize hexagonal, triangular, dimerized, quasi-1D, and non-bipartite square geometries, enabling the site-resolved study and control of Fermi-Hubbard physics beyond the standard square lattice bandstructure. Such nonstandard bandstructures are a key ingredient for studying correlated phases in the Hubbard model, such as the proposed spin liquid state in the triangular lattice model or the pseudogap phase of the square lattice model. Simultaneously, we improve on the state of the art in reducing technical noise in an optical lattice, with the goal of reducing heating rates to allow for longer experimental interrogation times. In addition to providing better energy resolution for the study of low-energy phenomena, this will also improve the prospects of adiabatic state preparation schemes, which may be crucial in reducing temperatures below the limits of current experiments to study the yet unexplored low-temperature regime of the Hubbard phase diagram.