| Themes > Science > Physics > Molecular Physics > Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics > Quantum Optics |
A new state of matter, a weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), has been produced in several laboratories by cooling a dilute gas of alkali atoms to nanoKelvin temperatures. These experiments have prompted an enormous surge of activity worldwide. Two distinct directions of theoretical studies have evolved at UConn. First, we have investigated the properties of a BEC. Our most important results to date bear on the nature of a peculiar phase coherence (and its diffusion), analogous to the phase coherence of a laser, which is thought to accompany Bose-Einstein condensation. The second line of research is the investigation of the optical properties and optical response of a BEC. As an example, we have discovered a method to detect the phase coherence of the condensate by driving transitions between two condensates with a laser. Our investigations integrate analytical and numerical methods. We are now in the process of building a powerful hardware and software facility, based on the C++ language, for numerical modeling of the Bose-Einstein condensate. Another active research area in the department is the investigation of coherent population transfer and coherent control. We are studying variations of the STIRAP technique for coherently exciting an atomic or molecular state with nearly 100% efficiency, including multiphoton variations and a possible extension to ultracold molecule production by stimulated radiative recombination. Related techniques are under development for selective control of molecular ionization and dissociation processes. |
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