Probing quantum dynamics with strongly-driven ultracold gases

The isolated, clean, and tunable nature of ultracold atomic gases make them a natural platform for controlled realization and study of strongly-driven quantum systems. I will present recent results from two classes of experiments along these lines. First I will discuss ultracold lithium in strongly modulated optical lattices, including a demonstration of Floquet band engineering, the first experimental realization of a relativistic harmonic oscillator, and the exploration of a Floquet prethermal state. Second, I will present results from a new type of quantum simulator in which a driven Bose condensate of strontium emulates ultrafast ionization dynamics in attosecond laser pulses, counter-intuitively enabling the study of some of the fastest processes in atomic physics with some of the slowest.