External meeting - Geneva University: A lab in a trap: quantum gases in optical lattices
GENEVA UNIVERSITY
ECOLE DE PHYSIQUE
Département de physique nucléaire et corspusculaire
24, Quai Ernest-Ansermet
1211 GENEVE 4 - Tél: 022 379 62 73 - Fax: 022 379 69 92
Monday 16 April 2007
PARTICLE PHYSICS SEMINAR
at 17:00 - Stückelberg Auditorium
A lab in a trap: quantum gases in optical lattices
by Prof. Tilman Esslinger / Department of Physics, ETH Zurich
The field of ultra cold quantum gases has seen an astonishing development during the last ten years. With the demonstration of Bose-Einstein condensation in weakly interacting atomic gases a theoretical concept of unique beauty could be witnessed experimentally. Very recent developments have now made it possible to engineer atomic many-body systems which are dominated by strong interactions. A major driving force for these advances are experiments in which ultracold atoms are trapped in optical lattices. These systems provide anew avenue for designing and studying quantum many-body systems. Exposed to the crystal structure of interfering laser waves fermionic atoms behave much like electrons in a solid. However, the properties of this synthetic material can be changed at will. The collisional interaction between fermionic atoms in different spin states can be tuned using a Feshbach resonance and the dimensionality is controlled almost like a parameter. In the experiment we have been able to directly image the Fermi surface of the atoms in the optical lattice and to study the transition of the system from a conducting state to a band insulator. The unique versatility of atoms in optical lattices may allow the study of a whole catalogue of phenomena linked to solid-state physics or even to mimic the physics underlying high-temperature superconductivity.
Information: http://theory.physics.unige.ch/~fiteo/seminars/COL/collist.html