Research on ultracold atoms is exciting and active. Important milestones in this field include
- Laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms (1986), Nobel Prize in 1997:
- Steven Chu (my Ph.D. advisor), William D. Phillips and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji
- Bose-Einstein condensation of neutral atoms (1995), Nobel Prize in 2001:
- By Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman, by Wolfgang Ketterle and by Randy Hulet.
A general review article on ultracold atoms: nature insight - ultracold matter
Research on ultracold molecules is an EVEN NEWER and diversified. Recent progresses include.
- Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules (2003)
- Crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schreiffer superfluid (2004)
- Observation of three- and four-body bound states (2005, 2006)
A few general articles are here,
Ultracold atoms spark a hot race
Arrival of the fermion superfluid
The birth of ultracold molecules in the world of quantum gases
Our research topics include
| Formation and Condensation of Ultracold Complex Molecules
Advantages of using ultracold atoms and molecules:
- Almost absence of thermal fluctuation
- Extremely high energy resolution
- Tunability of the interaction strength
Quantum simulation os physics in other fields using cold atoms:
- BEC-BCS crossover (high-Tc Superconductivity)
- BEC in optical lattices (Superfluid-Mott insulator transition)
- Efimov trimer and tetramer states (nuclear physics, physical chemistry)
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| Realization of Scalable Quantum Manipulations in Optical Lattices
Advantages of using ultracold atoms:
- Optical lattices are impurity-free and can be precisely characterized.
- Very long coherence time of 1s ~ 10s can be achieved.
- Strong spin dependent atom-molecule couplings can be realized.
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