This award supports theoretical and computational research and undergraduate training in the modeling of interacting quantum many-body systems. The focus will be to explore the novel properties of ultracold atoms in optical lattice potentials, an ideal system for the study of quantum phases, dynamics, and critical phenomena. Using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, the PI will study the time evolution of these systems after a change in the system's parameters, a quench. This research exploits recent advances in laboratory control over ultracold atoms in optical traps, including the strength of the interatomic interactions, strength of the optical lattice potential, and shape of the confining trap, and the ability to vary these experimental parameters more or less at will. This research and education activity features the training of undergraduates at Wellesley College in these topics through mentored independent projects.
The control over microscopic parameters as well as the macroscopic geometry present in trapped ultracold gases allows the creation of nearly perfect systems of interacting bosons or fermions. The ability to alter the interactions, mobility, and geometry of these systems essentially instantaneously will produce new understanding of quantum many-body physics and allow new tests of fundamental quantum behavior. The research funded by this award will focus on the dynamics of these systems after and during changes in an experimental parameter and will yield new insight into quantum dynamics and quantum critical phenomena in superfluid and Mott-insulating quantum phases.
Atomic systems hold great promise to probe models of many-body condensed matter and to test the foundations of quantum mechanics. Theories of superfluid and Mott-insulating phases of bosons, as well as the quantum phase transition between them, have direct bearing on superconducting systems. Increased understanding of interacting bosonic atoms can lead to insights into the quantum dynamics of strongly-interacting superconducting systems, and may consequently aid the development of new electronic devices. Further progress in quantum computing based on ultracold atoms in optical lattices depends on a better understanding of the dynamics of these finite quantum systems with spatially-dependent parameters. Quenches in which a system parameter is quickly changed lead to non-local phenomena that could be harnessed for future algorithms. The work supported with this award will develop and model promising directions for future experiments in this area.
The research supported through this award will be carried out at Wellesley College, a non-Ph.D.-granting women's college and will train undergraduates through independent research projects -- including senior theses and summer research -- throughout its duration. This will engage undergraduates in cutting-edge physics research and training them in advanced theoretical methods. Undergraduate projects will include analytical and numerical work on the hydrodynamic modes of superfluid regions, the expansion of superfluid systems after release from their traps, and the formation of vortices in trapped BECs. These undergraduate research projects will give underrepresented physics students at a small liberal arts college the opportunity to gain theoretical modeling skills and working knowledge of the emerging field of ultracold atoms.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY
This award supports theoretical and computational research and undergraduate training to explore the novel properties of atoms close to the absolute zero in temperature trapped in beams of laser light. This turns out to be an ideal system for to study quantum mechanics and new states of matter in a controlled way that is difficult to achieve in the study of electrons in materials or trapped in artificial material structures. The PI will use a combination of analytical theory and computational techniques to carry out this project. The research will contribute to our understanding of how a change in the environment of a quantum system affects the way it evolves in time. This research exploits recent advances in laboratory control over systems of ultracold atoms trapped in laser light. The research features the training of undergraduates at Wellesley College in these topics through mentored independent projects.
With ultracold atoms, it is possible to create nearly perfect systems of interacting particles that behave according to the rules of quantum mechanics. The study of this system will enable new understanding of quantum many-body physics and allow new tests of the theory of quantum mechanics. The research supported by this award will focus on how a system of ultracold atoms, responds to an abrupt change in its environment, for example a rapid squeeze. The response will yield new insight into the way quantum systems transform from one phase to another.
The study of trapped cold atoms, a kind of crystal of light, holds promise to advance understanding of solid state materials and to test the foundations of quantum mechanics. Theories of the phases of quantum particles, as well as the transition between these phases, have direct bearing on understanding strongly interacting electrons in solids as well as superconductors. Superconductors are materials that can conduct electrical current without dissipation. This contribution to the fundamental understanding of states of matter contributes to the intellectual foundations of future technologies. Ultracold atoms may enable the realization of a new kind of computer that functions through the manipulation of quantum mechanical states. A better understanding of the dynamics of ultracold atom systems is needed for further advance. "Quenches" in which a system parameter is quickly changed lead to non-local phenomena that could be harnessed for future quantum-computing algorithms. The research supported under this award will contribute promising directions for future experiments in this area.
The research supported through this award will be carried out at Wellesley College, a non-Ph.D.-granting women's college and will train undergraduates through independent research projects -- including senior theses and summer research -- throughout its duration. This will engage undergraduates in cutting-edge physics research and training them in advanced theoretical methods. Undergraduate projects will include analytical and numerical work on the hydrodynamic modes of superfluid regions, the expansion of superfluid systems after release from their traps, and the formation of vortices in trapped BECs. These undergraduate research projects will give underrepresented physics students at a small liberal arts college the opportunity to gain theoretical modeling skills and working knowledge of the emerging field of ultracold atoms.
