Quantised Vortices


Book Description

Vortices comprising swirling motion of matter are observable in classical systems at all scales ranging from atomic size to the scale of galaxies. In quantum mechanical systems, such vortices are robust entities whose behaviours are governed by the strict rules of topology. The physics of quantum vortices is pivotal to basic science of quantum turbulence and high temperature superconductors, and underpins emerging quantum technologies including topological quantum computation. This handbook is aimed at providing a dictionary style portal to the fascinating quantum world of vortices.




Novel Superfluids


Book Description

This book reports on the latest developments in the field of Superfluidity. The phenomenon has had a tremendous impact on the fundamental sciences as well as a host of technologies. It began with the discovery of superconductivity in mercury in 1911, which was ultimately described theoretically by the theory of Bardeen Cooper and Schriever (BCS) in 1957. The analogous phenomena, superfluidity, was discovered in helium in 1938 and tentatively explained shortly thereafter as arising from a Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) by London. But the importance of superfluidity, and the range of systems in which it occurs, has grown enormously. In addition to metals and the helium liquids the phenomena has now been observed for photons in cavities, excitons in semiconductors, magnons in certain materials, and cold gasses trapped in high vacuum. It very likely exist for neutrons in a neutron star and, possibly, in a conjectured quark state at their center. Even the Universe itself can be regarded as being in a kind of superfluid state. All these topics are discussed by experts in the respective subfields.




Applied Research of Quantum Information Based on Linear Optics


Book Description

This thesis reports on outstanding work in two main subfields of quantum information science: one involves the quantum measurement problem, and the other concerns quantum simulation. The thesis proposes using a polarization-based displaced Sagnac-type interferometer to achieve partial collapse measurement and its reversal, and presents the first experimental verification of the nonlocality of the partial collapse measurement and its reversal. All of the experiments are carried out in the linear optical system, one of the earliest experimental systems to employ quantum communication and quantum information processing. The thesis argues that quantum measurement can yield quantum entanglement recovery, which is demonstrated by using the frequency freedom to simulate the environment. Based on the weak measurement theory, the author proposes that white light can be used to precisely estimate phase, and effectively demonstrates that the imaginary part of the weak value can be introduced by means of weak measurement evolution. Lastly, a nine-order polarization-based displaced Sagnac-type interferometer employing bulk optics is constructed to perform quantum simulation of the Landau-Zener evolution, and by tuning the system Hamiltonian, the first experiment to research the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in non-equilibrium kinetics processes is carried out in the linear optical system.







Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates


Book Description

This book, written by experts in the fields of atomic physics and nonlinear science, covers the important developments in a special aspect of Bose-Einstein condensation, namely nonlinear phenomena in condensates. Topics covered include bright, dark, gap and multidimensional solitons; vortices; vortex lattices; optical lattices; multicomponent condensates; mathematical methods/rigorous results; and the beyond-the-mean-field approach.




Bose-Einstein Condensation


Book Description

Bose-Einstein Condensation represents a new state of matter and is one of the cornerstones of quantum physics, resulting in the 2001 Nobel Prize. Providing a useful introduction to one of the most exciting field of physics today, this text will be of interest to a growing community of physicists, and is easily accessible to non-specialists alike.




Atom Optics


Book Description

Quantum mechanics does away with the distinction between particles and waves, and one of the more interesting implications of the wave/particle duality - the discovery that atoms may be manipulated in ways analogous to the manipulation of light with lenses and mirrors - has formed the basis for the relatively new field of atom optics. Pierre Meystre's Atom Optics is the first book entirely devoted to this exciting area of research. Reference links to the leading journals in the field, links to research sites, graphics, and updates can be found online.




The BCS-BEC Crossover and the Unitary Fermi Gas


Book Description

Recent experimental and theoretical progress has elucidated the tunable crossover, in ultracold Fermi gases, from BCS-type superconductors to BEC-type superfluids. The BCS-BEC Crossover and the Unitary Fermi Gas is a collaborative effort by leading international experts to provide an up-to-date introduction and a comprehensive overview of current research in this fast-moving field. It is now understood that the unitary regime that lies right in the middle of the crossover has remarkable universal properties, arising from scale invariance, and has connections with fields as diverse as nuclear physics and string theory. This volume will serve as a first point of reference for active researchers in the field, and will benefit the many non-specialists and graduate students who require a self-contained, approachable exposition of the subject matter.




Bose-Einstein Condensation in Dilute Gases


Book Description

Introduction to ultracold atomic Bose and Fermi gases for advanced undergraduates, graduates, experimentalists and theorists.




Controlling the Quantum World


Book Description

As part of the Physics 2010 decadal survey project, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation requested that the National Research Council assess the opportunities, over roughly the next decade, in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) science and technology. In particular, the National Research Council was asked to cover the state of AMO science, emphasizing recent accomplishments and identifying new and compelling scientific questions. Controlling the Quantum World, discusses both the roles and challenges for AMO science in instrumentation; scientific research near absolute zero; development of extremely intense x-ray and laser sources; exploration and control of molecular processes; photonics at the nanoscale level; and development of quantum information technology. This book also offers an assessment of and recommendations about critical issues concerning maintaining U.S. leadership in AMO science and technology.