Physics with New Atomic Systems: Quantum Interactions, Cooling, & Applications

冷原子的物理学只是部分已知的，我们的信息通常仅限于少数几种原子。在这个项目中，我们正在努力揭示冷和超冷状态下新的原子的碰撞特性，并扩展它们的创建和操作方法。被研究的原子来自氮族元素和卤素（例如，氮和氯），到目前为止，在冷原子领域几乎没有接触过。通过捕获和冷却这些原子，我们将了解它们是否可以变成量子气体，以及它们在冷的稀释气体中相互碰撞时如何相互作用。这种行为是自然界中最基本的碰撞现象之一。我们还致力于实现一个混合的冷原子源，使用激光冷却沿着缓冲气体冷却，目的是创造更高通量的冷原子束技术。从广义上说，这项工作的重要性是揭示新的科学和开辟新的前景，在冷原子的使用。由于这些碰撞研究的基本性质，它可能是最大的影响将涉及新的想法和技术，但未知的。潜在的应用包括对空间和大气中发现的关键原子进行更高精度的光谱分析，以及为各种工作增加捕获的原子数量，包括提高技术材料的质量。

The physics of cold atoms is only partially known and our information is generally limited to only a few kinds of atoms. In this project we are working to uncover the collisional properties of atoms that are new to the cold and ultracold regime, and extend methods for their creation and manipulation. The atoms being studied are drawn from the pnictogens and halogens (for example, Nitrogen and Chlorine), so far nearly untouched in the realm of cold atoms. By trapping and cooling these atoms, we will learn whether they can be made into quantum gases and how they interact as they collide with each other in a cold, dilute gas. Such behavior is among the most fundamental collision phenomena in Nature. We are also working toward the practical realization of a hybrid cold atoms source using laser cooling along with buffer-gas cooling, with the aim of creating higher flux cold atom beam technology.Broadly speaking, the importance of this work is to uncover new science and open up new vistas in the use of cold atoms. Due to the fundamental nature of these collision studies, it may be the largest impact will involve new ideas and technologies that are as yet unknown. Potential applications include higher precision spectroscopy of key atoms found in space and the atmosphere and increased numbers of trapped atoms for a variety or work, including improving the qualities of technological materials.