Bose-Einstein Condensation
 Dr. Brian Anderson. Research in the Bose-Einstein Condensation
Laboratory is aimed at studying the behavior of neutral atoms at extremely
low temperatures. We begin with a room-temperature vapor of atoms
confined within a small vacuum chamber. Using laser cooling
techniques, we cool some of these atoms to microkelvin temperatures, and
subsequently load them into a purely magnetic trap. We use
evaporative cooling techniques to decrease the temperature of the sample
even further, while also increasing the atomic density, until a phase
transition occurs in which a large fraction of the atoms suddenly fall
into the quantum-mechanical ground state of the trapping potential.
These clusters of identical, indistinguishable particles at temperatures
barely above absolute-zero display many interesting properties. The
entire collection is described as one quantum-mechanical object, called a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). A BEC acts in many ways much like a
beam of laser light, enabling studies of linear and nonlinear atom optics
such as atomic coherence, interference, four-wave mixing, solitons, and
waveguiding. Furthermore, BECs also show superfluid properties,
allowing the creation of vortices and Josephson junctions, for example.
We are pursuing further exploration of these unique quantum systems.
Gedanken Laboratory
Dr. Pierre Meystre. Theoretical studies are currently being performed in a
number of topics in atom optics, quantum optics and nonlinear optics. In
particular, recent investigations into the manipulation and control of
matter waves have resulted in the new paradigm of nonlinear atom optics,
which is now within experimental reach. Nonlinear atom optics has the
potential to impact a number of fields of physics, including the
generation and manipulation of coherent matter waves or ‘atom lasers’, the
preparation of quantum entanglements in mesoscopic quantum systems, and
the study of the interface between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds.
Possible future applications include quantum information processing,
nanofabrication and matter-wave holography, inertial sensors, and
integrated atom optics. Other gedanken experiments involve topics such as
the marriage between cavity QED and the physics of quantum degenerate
gases, and the study of strongly correlated systems such as quantum
degenerate atomic gases trapped on optical lattices.
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Collaborations
Nonlinear and Quantum Optics
Optical Sciences scientists participate in cooperative research
with scientists and faculty members at the Arizona Center for Mathematical
Sciences, Lite Cycles in Tucson Arizona, The University of St. Andrews and
Strathclyde University in Scotland, and the Universitat Politecnica de
Catalunya in Barcelona Spain. Research includes the theory and simulation
of nonlinear optical propagation, self-focusing collapse and optical
turbulence, light string propagation in air, solutions of Maxwell’s
equation in nonlinear media, transverse dynamics of nonlinear optical
resonators, development of master equation methods, and spatial and
temporal mode-locking. Studies are also underway in the areas of
Bose-Einstein condensation in atomic vapors, quantum dynamics of small
condensates, exact many-body theory of one-dimensional systems, nonlinear
atom optics and interferometry.
Strategic Applications of
Ultracold Atoms
The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) is a
collaboration between scientists and faculty members at Yale, Harvard,
MIT, Stanford and The University of Arizona’s Optical Sciences.
This focused cooperative program was established to advance matter wave
sensors by combining atom interferometry with atom lasers and atom
waveguides with the prospect of improving the sensitivity of such sensors
by orders of magnitude as compared with existing state-of-the-art sensors.
The goal of the consortium is to identify, explore and exploit fundamental
scientific possibilities surrounding the production, manipulation and
detection of ultra-cold atoms for a variety of sensing applications. Such
sensors include gravimeters, gravity gradiometers, gyroscopes,
magnetometers and frequency standards and have applications in science and
technology and within the Department of Defense. Some uses of sensitive
and accurate inertial force sensors include covert/passive navigation,
precision guidance, underground structure detection, and gravitational
mapping. The sensors are non-emanating and capable of operating in a
jammed GPS environment.
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Laser Cooling and Trapping
Dr. Poul Jessen. In the Laser Cooling and Trapping Laboratories, laser
light is used to cool and capture neutral cesium atoms in magneto-optic
traps and optical molasses. After laser cooling, the atoms are transferred
to all-optical traps where their quantum motion can be studied and
manipulated. High power lasers form optical lattices in which the atoms
can be tightly bound and cooled to the quantum mechanical ground state of
motion. Such atoms occupy minimum uncertainty quantum states, and are an
important starting point for the group’s research projects. Laboratory #1
concentrates on the study of quantum tunneling and mesoscopic quantum
physics, quantum chaos and quantum control. Laboratory #2 uses cold atoms
in optical lattices to develop methods to engineer quantum states and
quantum entanglement, and to implement quantum logic and quantum
computing.
Nonlinear and Quantum Optics
Dr. Ewan Wright.
Research in the Nonlinear and
Quantum Optics Group includes ultrashort pulse propagation in nonlinear
media, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in atomic vapors, optical trapping
of particles using laser beams, and the theory of electromagnetic anyons
in chiral planar nanostructures. Specific research topics are the theory
and simulation of self-focusing collapse, light-induced breakdown, and
white-light generation in liquids and gases, long distance propagation of
femtosecond light strings in the air and associated THz emission from the
light string induced plasma, investigation of coupled ring BECs for
rotation sensing applications,
theory of self-assembled arrays of particles using Bessel and other laser
beams, and the theory of anyonic electromagnetic quasi-particles in chiral
planar nanostructures and their consequences for the optical properties of
these materials.
 Optical Vortex Laboratory
Dr. Grover Swartzlander. Research centers on the physics and applications
of optical vortices. Other projects involve computer generated holography,
diffractive optics, optical coherence, and optical tweezers. Nonlinear
optics research includes spatial solitons and parametric down conversion.
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