Progress towards single site detection of three dimensional lattice-confined spinor gases

In lattice-confined ultracold atom experiments, techniques to directly image individual lattice sites, for example quantum gas microscopy, have thus far been challenging to implement in three-dimensional systems due to technical limitations, notably a short depth of focus and background contributions from nearby layers. Recent experiments have utilized matter-wave optics to achieve single-site resolution using standard imaging techniques sidestepping these experimental challenges. We implement this imaging technique to antiferromagnetic spinor gases confined in three-dimensional optical lattices. Our observations indicate that site-resolved spatial resolution enabled by this technique allows for exploration of previously inaccessible microscopic regimes to advance the understanding of many-body physics, such as the first-order superfluid to Mott insulator quantum phase transition and transport phenomena.