Quantum Simulation of Turbulence with Cold Atoms

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Quantum vortices - an analog of tornadoes - play a key role in the dynamics of neutron stars: the densest objects in the universe on the verge of becoming black holes. Surprisingly, quantum vortices can be studied on earth with ultracold-atom experiments, operating almost a billion times colder than outer space. These experiments can be adjusted to mimic many aspects of neutron stars, and this project will enable them to be used as analog quantum computers to simulate turbulence in nuclear astrophysics. By transcending current limitations of classical computers, this will rapidly accelerate the progress of science, targeting the 40-year old mystery of pulsar glitches. This program combines two of the NSF's Big Ideas, advancing quantum simulations (Quantum Leap) to maximize the return on detector investment (Windows on the Universe). Pulsar glitches might even be heard with the next round of gravitational wave observations at the NSF LIGO facility, informing nuclear physics by providing insight into their microscopic nature. In addition to advancing basic science, this project will explore quantum dynamics with potential applications to quantum devices, and develop accessible programming models to help students and researchers more effectively utilize national investment in high-performance computing (HPC) to advance the pace of scientific discovery. Finally, a superfluid explorer application will be developed to help the public and students appreciate quantum behavior, and better understand the science at the core of the next quantum revolution.This project will deliver computationally efficient models that accurately describe dynamic quantum effects, including negative-mass hydrodynamics from dispersion relationships engineered with spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. Ultracold atom experiments explore a rich set of phenomena that will be used validate our theoretical techniques, then these techniques will be used to drive the discovery of new phenomena. Extensions of this theory to nuclear physics will ultimately be used to model superfluid vortex dynamics in neutron stars with the goal of understanding pulsar glitches - sudden increases in the spinning of neutron stars even though they continually lose angular momentum. This project will advance a broad range of fields, including atomic physics, condensed matter, non-linear optics, nuclear theory, and nuclear astrophysics. The research will result in publicly available codes for solving problems in quantum dynamics, presented in intuitive and interactive notebooks with video tutorials demonstrating how to use high-level programming languages to drive high-performance computers. These tools will significantly improve the infrastructure for research and education, educating researchers to effectively utilize medium to large scale computing resources for the advancement of science. Through this project, both undergraduate and graduate students will be trained with the analytical and high-performance computational skills to succeed in their future pursuits in academia, at national laboratories, and in industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.