Antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensates: from quantum quenches to quantum information

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This experimental research program uses ultracold matter to study how instabilities develop and propagate in the microscopic realm, rather than the macroscopic one. In the microscopic domain, most objects obey the laws of quantum physics, not classical physics. The difference between these two sets of laws is what can lend tremendous power to quantum technologies, ranging from quantum computers that promise unparalleled computational speed, to new quantum mechanical sensors that herald improved measurement technologies. Today there is an increased need for understanding the science that enables such quantum machinery, and to discover the physical laws and limitations relevant to the quantum world. This team will use an ultracold atomic gas to advance such scientific understanding. By cooling gases very close to absolute zero, this team will realize a nearly pure quantum system known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), with which they can explore the limits to pure quantum behavior. One aim of this project is to control the magnetic properties of a BEC using magnetic fields to generate artificial instabilities and to use these instabilities to learn how a quantum system heats up and loses its pure quantum nature, and how one might be able to control that process. In addition to advancing the science that underlies tomorrow's technologies, this team is also training a diverse community of students and future educators, some of whom will become the builders and architects of these future technologies. A focused set of experiments on sodium spinor Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) is proposed that probes the multi-mode nature of a quantum quench. The experiments emphasize the group's unique experimental capabilities and are motivated by intriguing questions that have emerged from earlier funded work. The probability distribution of spin mF = +1 and -1 atoms generated by the quench will be measured, looking for super-Poissonian fluctuations in a multi-mode scenario. In a second project, the equilibrium physics of a spinor BEC exactly at zero quadratic Zeeman shift will be explored. Finally, non-destructive imaging of the spin will be implemented to study the effect of continuous quantum measurement on a spinor BEC. A combination of destructive and non-destructive experimental imaging techniques will be honed and deployed to reveal new and richly detailed information about the system under study. The proposed research will have broad scientific impact, particularly in condensed matter and quantum optics, and through outreach efforts, to the broader Atlanta community. Scientific collaborations with condensed matter and quantum optics colleagues, initiated in the previous funding cycle, will be strengthened. Graduate student teaching and training will continue to be emphasized, as will exposure of undergraduates to research. HD videoconferencing to local area classrooms, participation in summer workshops for high school teachers and other, related outreach activities will be important components of the broader impact of this program.