Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics at JILA

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。这个团体项目旨在深入研究一系列广泛的问题，这些问题源于人们希望全面详细地了解超冷原子和分子的气体，以及如何操纵这些气体来设计感兴趣的系统。特别令人感兴趣的将是碱土原子和类似的原子(如Yb)，以及极性物种。这些原子在各种应用中提供了大量尚未开发的潜力，如光学频率标准、对不寻常的凝聚态系统进行建模以及量子信息设备。这项工作将加深对二体、三体和四体相互作用的理论理解，这些相互作用对冷气体的准备、稳定和控制至关重要。补充工作将集中在利用这些性质来生成一套详细的操作说明，用于对原本难以处理的凝聚态哈密顿量进行建模，或者描述新的传输可能性。计划中的工作的更广泛的影响部分来自显著增加对凝聚态系统的理解的有利前景。通过在光学晶格上高度可控的原子气体环境中设计模拟，该小组可能能够提供对高温超导体、巨磁电阻材料等材料的基本见解。此外，该项目将对研究生的培训产生影响，他们将能够与司法和法律研究所的不同理论和实验研究小组互动。研究人员将继续为社区外联计划做出贡献，如公共讲座和可访问的物理文章，组织研讨会，并保持对物理界的服务。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This group project aims to delve into a broad range of problems stemming from the desire to understand gases of ultracold atoms and molecules in full detail, and how to manipulate these gases to engineer systems of interest. Of particular interest will be the alkaline-earth atoms and similar atoms (such as ytterbium), and polar species. These atoms offer a wealth of untapped potential in applications as diverse as optical frequency standards, modeling of unusual condensed matter systems, and quantum information devices. The work will deepen theoretical understanding of two, three, and four-body interactions that are essential to the preparation, stability, and control of cold gases. Complementary work will focus on exploiting these properties to generate a detailed set of how-to instructions for modeling otherwise intractable condensed matter Hamiltonians, or else to describe novel transport possibilities.The broader impact of the planned work arises in part from the favorable prospects for adding significantly to the body of understanding of condensed matter systems. By designing simulations in the highly-controllable environment of an atom gas on an optical lattice, the group may be able to provide fundamental insights into such materials as high-temperature superconductors, colossal magnetoresistance materials, and many others. In addition, the project will impact the training of graduate students, who will be able to interact with the different theoretical and experimental research groups at JILA. The investigators will continue to contribute to community outreach programs such as public lectures and accessible physics articles, to organize workshops, and to maintain service to the physics community.