Strongly Interacting Quantum Mixtures of Ultracold Atoms

这是一个关于超冷原子气体混合物的研究计划，目的是研究新的物质形式。这些气体代表了一种全新的材料，具有独特和可控制的性质，它们为现代材料中的电子物理提供了一个模型系统。这些实验的重点是远离平衡和存在无序的现象，这两个主题在理论上知之甚少，但对于揭示高温超导体和巨磁阻材料的工作原理非常重要。其中一系列实验将涉及费米气体中的自旋输运，这将对新兴的自旋电子学领域产生影响。第二类实验将建立扩散、相互作用和无序可以熄灭金属状态的规则，以及杂质如何促进或破坏过剩流动性。这项研究将检验并推进当前的理论，涉及不同的物理领域：从凝聚态物理中的高温超导体研究，到早期宇宙中的夸克-胶子等离子体，以及核物理中的中子物质的行为。从这些实验中获得的更多知识可能使材料科学家能够利用现代材料的力量，用于具有极高数据密度的存储设备、能源效率和轻型电机。这项工作将为研究生、本科生和博士后提供激光、计算机控制、真空组件以及射频和微波电子学方面的培训，从而将研究与教育目标结合起来。在原子物理和凝聚态物理领域融合的时候，对多体状态的直接观察和操纵将提供一种非常刺激和有益的体验。所有研究将在校园内进行，并将通过麻省理工学院的本科生研究机会计划(UROP)和通过为物理学基本概念提供可视化插图而在物理和公开讲座中完全整合到教学和教育中。

This is a research program on mixtures of ultracold atomic gases with the goal to study novel forms of matter. These gases represent an entirely new material with unique and controllable properties, and they provide a model system for the physics of electrons in modern materials. The experiments focus on phenomena far from equilibrium and in the presence of disorder, two themes that are poorly understood theoretically, but of great importance in uncovering the workings of High-TC superconductors and colossal magnetoresistive materials. One series of experiments will deal with spin transport in Fermi gases, with implications for the emerging field of spintronics. A second class of experiments will establish the rules by which diffusion, interactions and disorder can quench metallic states and how impurities promote or destroy superfluidity. This research will test and thereby advance current theories and is relevant to diverse fields of physics: From studies of high-temperature superconductors in condensed matter physics, to the quark-gluon plasma of the early Universe and the behavior of neutron matter in nuclear physics. Improved knowledge gained from these experiments may enable material scientists to harness the power of modern materials for storage devices with extreme data density, for energy efficiency and lightweight electric motors. The work will provide training for graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs on lasers, computer control, vacuum assemblies, and radiofrequency and microwave electronics, thereby combining research with education objectives. The direct observation and manipulation of many-body states will provide a very stimulating and rewarding experience at a time when the fields of atomic physics and condensed matter physics merge. All research will be performed on campus and will be fully integrated in teaching and education, via MIT's program for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) and in physics and public lectures by providing visual illustrations for basic concepts in physics.