This three-year award supports U.S.-Ireland cooperative research in theoretical physics between Robert F. O'Connell of Louisiana State University and J.T. Lewis of the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. The investigators will study stochastic processes in quantum systems with special emphasis on systems in quantum optics and lasers, atomic and condensed matter physics which involve the presence of a heat bath as an integral element. They will address the spin-boson problem where a two-level system interacts with a radiation field, and problems on blackbody radiation heat-bath and dissipative quantum tunneling. The investigators will apply their results and methodology to study the effects of quantum dissipation in systems that exhibit the phenomenon of chaos. The U.S. group are experts in the theoretical aspects of quantum stochastic processes. The Irish investigators bring complementary expertise in the theoretical and experimental aspects of chaos in semiconductor lasers. Research in quantum stochastic processes have wide implications for a variety of systems in physics. This research will advance our understanding of quantum electrodynamics, condensed-matter physics, laser physics and atomic physics.
