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Projects
| Probing and controlling mesoscopic low-dimensional quantum systemsJörg SchmiedmayerKey to our research is the continued development of quantum-limited measurement methods to probe equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties with the goal of being sensitive to single excitations in a many-body quantum system. Detailed knowledge about the quantum gas will allow the implementation of optimal control sequences to create interesting many-body quantum states. Atom-chips give the necessary exquisite control of the atomic ensembles. A key system to be investigated is the double well and with it the extended Josephson junction. Interesting physics arises from quantum instabilities due to the multi-mode nature of the two coupled quantum degenerate clouds. The breakdown of macroscopic quantum self-trapping is predicted to create interesting quantum states. A detailed understanding will in addition help to implement trapped atom interferometers for metrology. A central topic we address is how de-coherence proceeds in an isolated many-body system and if classical physics properties will emerge. An intriguing open question is equilibration in 1d systems when 2-body scattering is frozen out, which is predicted to proceed through virtual 3-body processes. Probing and experimenting with single excitations will, in the more distant future, pave the way towards experiments on the dynamical Casimir effect and on analogues of Unruh or Hawking radiation. | Supporting Organizations |
