Competing interactions in dipolar erbium atoms
Ultracold magnetic atoms exhibit short-range contact interactions together with longrange
dipole-dipole interactions. The competition between these two interactions
gives rise to various quantum phases [1], where the usually dominant mean-field
interactions are small and the system is governed by quantum fluctuations [2].
In this talk, I will first report on the study of a supersolid state and its excitation
spectrum [3]. In such a state, two symmetries are spontaneously broken: the gauge