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Projects
| Atom cavity QED - Ultracold atom-field dynamics in multimode high Q resonatorsHelmut RitschAtoms and photons interacting in high-Q optical resonators self-organize in complex crystalline structures at the optical wavelength scale. In multimode cavities, important solid-state phenomena such as spontaneous symmetry breaking, crystal formation, supersolidity or glass physics near zero temperature appear and can be studied in real time at directly observable scales with unprecedented control. We investigate: (i) selfordering dynamics invoking a large number of cavity modes, allowing tailoring of the symmetry properties and interaction range. This implements the multimode Dicke - or Hopfield model as well phonon and polaron physics. (ii) Spin glass physics with cold ensembles simulated by means of cold particles in different internal states or different species. The manifold of almost degenerate quasi-stationary states should allow studying phase transitions from homogeneous states, via glassy states, to fully ordered ferro- and antiferromagnetic phases. (iii) Quantum thermodynamics of laser cooling and self-organization exhibits exotic thermodynamic properties similar to self-gravitating systems that can be studied in the quantum regime. Cavity cooling could replace evaporation to reach minimize particle loss and achieve CW atom lasing. (iv) Hybrid quantum systems coupled by cavity modes can interface solid-state qubits via atomic gases to opto-mechanical systems over large distances and time scales via excitons or polaritons and mediate tailored resonant energy transfer with minimal dissipation. | Supporting Organizations |
