Quantum Dynamics and Scattering Theory

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Eric Heller of Harvard University is supported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program and the Atomic, Molecular, Optical, and Plasma Physics Program to continue his investigations of long wavelength, ultracold scattering phenomena including proximity resonances and cold collisions. Studies of semiclassical approaches and tunneling phenomena with relevance to molecular physics will be undertaken. Also, new explorations of mesoscopic systems will be initiated, in particular scattering in confined geometries relevant to atomic waveguides, Kondo scattering and resonances in STM quantum corrals, and molecular STM spectroscopy and dynamics of small molecules on surfaces. Fundamental exploration of phase space localization of eigenfunctions, with emphasis on statistics of unimolecular decay lifetimes, will be pursued. Heller is also supported by the Science Literacy Program to produce a public exhibition of work inspired by quantum chaos investigations.Each of the projects here is related by common threads, including scattering theory, semiclassical theory, and chaos theory. They are also related by common approaches, including fundamental mathematical theory as well as computer modeling and computer experimentation. The outcomes of this research will enable improved understanding of the way molecules and small devices work, and to make possible the design, prediction, and control of their behavior. The informal science education project will demonstrate that discovery and knowledge can result from visualization.