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Quantum-gas microscopy and Talbot interferometry of the Bose-glass phase

Lennart Koehn1,*, Christopher Parsonage1,*, Callum W. Duncan1,2, Peter Kirton1, Andrew J. Daley1,3, Timon Hilker1, Elmar Haller1, Arthur La Rooij1, and Stefan Kuhr1

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
  • 2Aegiq Ltd., Cooper Buildings, Arundel Street, Sheffield S1 2NS, United Kingdom
  • 3Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 043303 – Published 3 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xb42-j6px

Abstract

Disordered potentials fundamentally affect transport and coherence in quantum systems, giving rise to a Bose-glass phase in interacting bosonic systems—an insulating yet compressible phase lacking long-range coherence. Directly measuring a reduced coherence length of the Bose glass has been a outstanding challenge. We address this by employing Talbot interferometry combined with single-atom-resolved detection in a quantum-gas microscope. Using ultracold bosonic atoms in a two-dimensional lattice with site-resolved, reproducible disorder, we identify the Bose-glass phase through in situ density distributions and particle-number fluctuations, quantified via the Edwards-Anderson parameter, and through the visibility of interference patterns after time of flight. By driving the system across the Bose-glass phase, we further observe signatures of nonergodic dynamics. Our studies provide a starting point to further explore disordered systems in and out of equilibrium, and are relevant for understanding the dynamics and stability of disordered and glasslike quantum states in solid-state systems.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 043303– Published 3 April, 2026
  • Received 3 June 2025
  • Accepted 2 March 2026
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