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.
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Collaborations
Nonlinear and Quantum Optics
Optical Sciences
scientists participate in cooperative research with scientists and
faculty members at The University of St. Andrews and Heriot-Watt
University in Scotland, and CREOL at the University of Central Florida.
Research includes optical binding of microparticles in novel laser
beams, the theory of atomic anyons formed in atomic Bose-Einstein
condensates, and broken PT symmetry in optical interactions.
08-2009
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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Cavity QED of
Semiconductors
Dr.
Galina Khitrova and Dr. Hyatt Gibbs. Much like single atom
cavity QED, single quantum dot cavity QED enables single dot lasing,
single photon on demand, anti-bunching, and nonclassical photon
statistics with the advantage that the dot does not move. See the
research topic Quantum Nano-Optics of
Semiconductors for more information. 08-2009
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 nonlinear
optical propagation, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in atomic vapors,
and optical trapping of particles using novel laser beams. Specific
projects include generation of cat states of optical vortices using
nonlinear optics, generation of macroscopic superpositions of superfluid
flows for BECs in ring traps, atom dynamics in the presence of novel
laser fields, atomic anyons, quantum dynamics of strongly interacting
one-dimensional atomic gases, theory and simulation of optically bound
matter in the presence novel laser beams, and the relation between the
nonlinear optics of colloidal suspensions and large scale optically
bound matter. 08-2009
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