Rydberg soft matter

里德伯软物质

• 批准号: EP/M014398/1
• 负责人: Charles Adams
• 金额: $ 77.61万
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2015 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FM014398%2F1
• 关键词: Rydberg; soft; matter

The world around us is in a state of constant change. Physicists refer to this as being "far-from-equilibrium". Far-from-equilibrium systems are common throughout nature, and non-equilibrium dynamics is encountered in problems as distinct and varied as biological self-assembly and the behaviour of financial markets. Remarkably, even though physics is a very mature and advanced field, it has comparatively little to say about systems far-from-equilibrium. In this proposal we will help to fill this void by exploiting atomic systems where we have complete control over interparticle interactions, but which also display a remarkable richness in their collective and far-from-equilibrium behaviour. Our atomic system is based on individual atoms where we can control the interactions using laser pulses to promote the atoms to highly excited states known as Rydberg states. An ensemble of atoms excited to Rydberg states can display complex spatial and temporal dynamics that are analogous in many ways to soft matter systems such as colloids or glasses. Due the capability to control microscopic interactions, this "Rydberg soft matter" offers the possibility to gain new insight into how the microscopics determine the collective macroscopic behaviour, both in dynamics and structure. A second special feature of Rydbergs is the ability to control the relative importance of quantum effects. By studying small systems where quantum fluctuations dominate we can probe the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds, and study quantum triggers of classical events which relate to fundamental questions such as macroscopic entanglement and the quantum measurement problem. Such systems also offer considerable potential for applications in the emerging area of quantum technology. Rydberg soft matter offers an unprecedented opportunity to break new ground in some of the most flourishing areas of current research. Significant progress, however, demands a close interplay between theory and experiment. To address this we have assembled an interdisciplinary team of theorists and experimentalists, all based in the UK, but with a combined expertise that is unique worldwide. We will begin by developing the microscopic theory which is relatively straightforward and easily tested by experiment. The challenge comes in extending the microscopic theory to treat many particles. At this stage we need experiments to validate the approximations and guide the direction of the theoretical development. Finally, the theory will guide the experiments to answer fundamental questions and develop potential applications. The novelty of Rydberg soft matter, the close interlinking of theory and experiment, and the unique skill set of the investigators will allow us to pioneer new directions in physics that address key questions both fundamental and applied.

我们周围的世界正处于不断变化的状态。物理学家将此称为“远离平衡”。远离平衡的系统在自然界中很常见，并且在诸如生物自组装和金融市场行为等独特而多样的问题中都会遇到非平衡动力学。值得注意的是，尽管物理学是一个非常成熟和先进的领域，但它对远离平衡的系统却相对较少。在这个提案中，我们将通过利用原子系统来帮助填补这一空白，在原子系统中，我们可以完全控制粒子间的相互作用，但也显示出其集体和远离平衡行为的显着丰富性。我们的原子系统基于单个原子，我们可以使用激光脉冲控制相互作用，以将原子提升到称为里德伯态的高度激发态。激发到里德伯态的原子集合可以显示复杂的空间和时间动力学，这些动力学在很多方面类似于胶体或玻璃等软物质系统。由于具有控制微观相互作用的能力，这种“里德伯软物质”提供了获得微观如何决定集体宏观行为的新见解的可能性，无论是在动力学还是结构方面。里德堡的第二个特点是能够控制量子效应的相对重要性。通过研究量子涨落占主导地位的小系统，我们可以探测量子世界和经典世界之间的边界，并研究与宏观纠缠和量子测量问题等基本问题相关的经典事件的量子触发因素。此类系统还为量子技术新兴领域的应用提供了巨大的潜力。里德堡软物质提供了前所未有的机会，可以在当前研究的一些最繁荣的领域取得新突破。然而，重大进展需要理论与实验之间的密切相互作用。为了解决这个问题，我们组建了一个由理论家和实验家组成的跨学科团队，他们全部位于英国，但拥有全球独一无二的综合专业知识。我们将从发展相对简单且易于通过实验检验的微观理论开始。挑战在于扩展微观理论来处理许多粒子。现阶段我们需要实验来验证近似值并指导理论发展的方向。最后，理论将指导实验回答基本问题并开发潜在的应用。里德堡软物质的新颖性、理论与实验的紧密联系以及研究人员的独特技能将使我们能够开拓物理学的新方向，解决基础和应用的关键问题。

项目成果

Contactless nonlinear optics mediated by long-range Rydberg interactions

• DOI: 10.1038/nphys4058
• 发表时间: 2017-07-01
• 期刊: NATURE PHYSICS
• 影响因子: 19.6
• 作者: Busche, Hannes;Huillery, Paul;Adams, Charles S.
• 通讯作者: Adams, Charles S.

Intrinsic optical bistability in a strongly driven Rydberg ensemble

• DOI: 10.1103/physreva.93.063863
• 发表时间: 2016-06-30
• 期刊: PHYSICAL REVIEW A
• 影响因子: 2.9
• 作者: de Melo, Natalia R.;Wade, Christopher G.;Weatherill, Kevin J.
• 通讯作者: Weatherill, Kevin J.

Enhanced metrology at the critical point of a many-body Rydberg atomic system

• DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01777-8
• 发表时间: 2022-07
• 期刊: Nature Physics
• 影响因子: 19.6
• 作者: D. Ding;Zongkai Liu;B. Shi;Guangtao Guo;K. Mølmer;C. Adams

Measuring the Faraday effect in olive oil using permanent magnets and Malus' law

使用永磁体和马吕斯定律测量橄榄油中的法拉第效应

• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6404/ab50dd
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: European Journal of Physics
• 影响因子: 0.7
• 作者: Carr D

Cooperative ordering in lattices of interacting two-level dipoles

• DOI: 10.1103/physreva.92.063822
• 发表时间: 2015-12-14
• 期刊: PHYSICAL REVIEW A
• 影响因子: 2.9
• 作者: Bettles, Robert J.;Gardiner, Simon A.;Adams, Charles S.
• 通讯作者: Adams, Charles S.