Strongly correlated quantum walks in optical lattices

Quantum walkers under a microscope Generations of physics students have been taught to think of one-dimensional random walks in terms of a drunken sailor taking random steps to the right or to the left. But that doesn't compare with the complexity of a quantum walker, who can propagate down multiple paths at the same time. Preiss et al. detected particles in single sites of an optical lattice to study the dynamics of two interacting atoms of 87Rb performing a quantum walk (see the Perspective by Widera). Depending on the initial conditions and the interaction strength between the atoms, the atoms either ignored each other, stuck to each other, or tried to get as far away from each other as possible. Science , this issue p. 1229 ; see also p. 1200