Ultracold alkaline-earth atoms are used in precision measurements and quantum simulation. Because of their unique atomic structure, they could enable the study of problems in quantum many-body systems, such as the simulation of synthetic gauge fields, Kondo and SU(N) physics. But to fully exploit this potential, the capability to tune the interatomic interaction to the strongly interacting regime is needed. Several theoretical proposals and experimental demonstrations have shown that both the spin-independent and spin-exchange interaction can be tuned to resonance in the alkaline-earth atoms. In this Perspective, we review these advances and discuss the opportunities brought by these interaction-control tools for future quantum simulation studies.

超冷碱土原子用于精密测量和量子模拟。由于它们独特的原子结构，它们可以研究量子多体系统中的问题，例如合成标距场，近藤和SU（N）物理场的模拟。但是，要充分利用这种潜力，需要将原子间相互作用调整为强相互作用机制的能力。几个理论建议和实验论证表明，自旋无关和自旋交换相互作用都可以调节到碱土原子中的共振。在本《观点》中，我们回顾了这些进展，并讨论了这些相互作用控制工具为未来量子仿真研究带来的机遇。