SoftRyd · Soft-matter collective phenomena in Rydberg gases
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-10-01 → 2018-09-30
- EU contribution
- €183,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Soft-matter collective phenomena in Rydberg gases
In the last few decades, it has become possible to experimentally study systems of interacting atoms or molecules evolving according to the laws of quantum mechanics, which has stimulated the theoretical study of such quantum many-body systems. The field is now characterised by an active exchange between theory and experiment. In this context, the aim of this project is to gain a deeper understanding of emerging collective effects in Rydberg gases, i.e. systems of atoms excited to high-lying states. Rydberg gases are becoming ever more controllable in experiment, and have shown great potential for applications in quantum information and sensing technologies. Surprisingly, the collective effects resulting from the very strong interactions of such systems resemble those found in the physics of liquids close to the glass transition. Such compelling analogies remained unexplored before the beginning of this project, as the community of researchers that study glassy systems and those who study quantum many-body systems use very different conceptual frameworks. By combining the expertise of the Supervisor in the physics of Rydberg gases and the previous research experience of the Researcher in glassy physics, a fruitful collaboration that lives on in several ongoing projects has been established. The main objectives of the project are: 1) The study of the quantum regime of Rydberg gases far from equilibrium. While the dynamics in the classical limit (where quantum superpositions decay very rapidly) had been studied to some extent, Rydberg gases in regimes where quantum effects strongly influence the dynamics remained unexplored. 2) Exploring the dynamics of multi-component Rydberg gases. While most of the previous work deals with the case where there is only one excited state (as excited by an electromagnetic field oscillating at a particular frequency), in the presence of more complex fields, several excited levels become involved in the dynamics. This case had not been explored despite its experimental relevance, and the fact that the engineering of multistable Rydberg gases, where applied electric fields lead to vastly different dynamics, may have implications for sensing technologies. 3) This objective deals with two aspects common to both (1) and (2).This include: (a) to study the dynamics of Rydberg gases using critical phenomena approaches, (b) to establish collaborations with experimental groups in order to validate new theoretical results, with the Researcher leading the exchange between theorists and experimentalists.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Understanding the behaviour of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium remains one of the central challenges in condensed-matter physics. The complex collective phenomena that are observed in such systems present many similarities to those observed in supercooled liquids and glasses, and their study would therefore greatly benefit from the insights and approaches developed in out-of-equilibrium soft-matter physics. However, the relevant research communities remain for the most part disconnected. We propose to bridge this gap by addressing the collective non-equilibrium dynamics of Rydberg gases (i.e., gases of atoms excited to high-lying energy levels) using ideas and approaches from soft-matter physics. One of the main objectives of the proposal is the study of the quantum regime, which remains as yet unexplored. The other main objective is the study of gases of multilevel Rydberg atoms, i.e. going beyond the two-level paradigm according to which atoms can only be in their ground state or in one excited state. Both objectives aim to break new ground by significantly expanding and generalising previous work on the dynamics of Rydberg gases, and each of them leads to ramifications that lend themselves quite naturally to a study based on the ideas and methods developed in soft-matter physics. The proposal combines the research experience and skills the Experienced Researcher acquired in the study of disordered, glassy and complex systems (which will provide the Host Institution with much needed skills and knowledge) with the internationally recognised expertise of the Supervisor in quantum many-body systems in general, and Rydberg gases in particular (which will help the Researcher to acquire new knowledge and skills through training and research activities). This rather unusual combination of backgrounds is uniquely suited for carrying out this challenging research programme, and ultimately leading the Researcher to pursue an independent scientific career.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM · NottinghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union