Using ultracold atomic vapors a research team at the University of Rochester will simulate and emulate problems from a range of subfields of physics. The team uses carefully prepared laser pulses to shape the atomic cloud in such a way that its subsequent behavior models physical phenomena important to problems in other areas such as material science and nuclear spin resonance (the phenomena at the heart of technologies such as MRI).
A key impact is the creation of knowledge useful for the development of quantum technologies and novel materials. Of equal importance is that the research will be central to the training of the next generations of scientists. Dilute samples of ultracold atoms have already been used to realize high-performance atomic clocks and gyroscopes. As a project in AMO physics, the research techniques provide an ideal training ground for scientists and engineers. Students trained in these fields are highly sought after in academic, government and industrial jobs and play a key role in the US scientific workforce. The project is highly interdisciplinary, combining techniques of optics, atomic and molecular physics, with those of solid-state and condensed matter physics.
