Quantum materials and quantum sensors with atomic and molecular gases

该研究计划的目的是利用激光冷却气体探索量子材料的基本现象，并利用它们实现具有基础和商业应用的新量子传感器。在我的实验室里，先前关于超冷原子[13，15]和分子[13，16，17，18]的生产工作使我们能够获得一类新的量子材料。 此外，我们之前的工作调谐粒子-粒子相互作用[15]，使用光控制量子态[19]以及控制粒子密度和限制几何形状将为少数和多体量子力学的一些最重要和最基本的现象提供实验途径。例如，考虑这样一个问题：“强相互作用量子粒子系统的集体行为是什么？这个问题对于理解从微观到天文尺度的一系列基本和技术感兴趣的物理系统至关重要，包括夸克-胶子等离子体，高温超导体中的电子，超流体液氦，超冷原子气体和中子星中的核子。 强相互作用多体系统的理论认识仍然是有限的，因为相互作用可以使粒子之间的关联支配的行为，然后平均场理论和微扰分析是不够的。为了推进基础知识和技术，必须通过将新的理论方法与干净和可重复的实验测量进行比较来确定其有效性。超冷原子和分子气体已经证明，它们是用于此目的的理想实验测试平台，因为它们具有上述的控制程度，它们的可重复性以及它们产生的广泛的测量选项。除了研究量子材料，我们的目标是创造新的传感器，其中传感器元件本身是物质的量子（例如单个原子或单个分子）。冷原子已经被用来实现最精确和灵敏的重力和惯性传感器，以及物质波干涉测量，并实现国际主要频率/时间标准（原子喷泉钟）。 我们的计划是进一步发展我们最近展示的基于原子的传感器技术-使用冷原子来测量超高真空中的粒子通量。 我们的目标是建立冷原子传感器作为国际初级压力标准。 这项技术预计将影响，除其他事项外，半导体制造工艺，依赖于控制粒子密度和真空中的通量。通过这些方式，这项关于冷原子和分子气体的研究旨在推进基础科学和应用科学，为有关物质性质的基本问题提供答案，并通过改进通信，制造和传感技术为我们的生活方式提供切实和直接的好处。

The aim of this research program is to use laser-cooled gases to explore fundamental phenomena of quantum materials and to use them to realize new quantum sensors with fundamental and commercial applications.******Prior work in my lab on the production of ultra-cold atoms [13,15] and molecules [13,16,17,18] has given us access to a new class of quantum materials. In addition, our prior work tuning particle-particle interactions [15], controlling the quantum states using light [19] and controlling the particle density and confinement geometry will provide experimental access to some of the most important and fundamental phenomena of few and many-body quantum mechanics. Consider for example, the question "What are the collective behaviors of a system of strongly interacting quantum particles?" This question is central to understanding an array of physical systems of both fundamental and technological interest from the microscopic to the astronomical scale including quark-gluon plasmas, electrons in high-Tc superconductors, super-fluid liquid helium, ultra-cold atomic gases, and nucleons in neutron stars. Theoretical understanding of strongly interacting many-body systems is still limited because interactions can make the particle-particle correlations dominate the behavior and then mean-field theory and perturbative analysis are inadequate. In order to advance fundamental knowledge and technology, it is essential to establish the validity of new theoretical approaches by comparing them with clean and reproducible experimental measurements. Ultra-cold atomic and molecular gases have already demonstrated that they are an ideal experimental testbed for this purpose because of the aforementioned degree of control, their reproducibility, and the wide array of measurement options they yield.******In addition to studying quantum materials, we aim to create new sensors where the sensor element itself is a quantum of matter (e.g. a single atom or a single molecule). Cold atoms have already been used to realize the most accurate and sensitive gravitational and inertial sensors with matter wave interferometry and to realize the international primary frequency/time standard (an atomic fountain clock). Our plan is to further develop the atom-based sensor technology we recently demonstrated - the use of cold atoms to measure particle flux in an ultra-high vacuum. Our aim is to establish the cold atom sensor as the international primary pressure standard. This technology is expected to impact, among other things, semi-conducting fabrication processes which rely on controlling particle densities and fluxes in vacuum. In these ways, this research on cold atomic and molecular gases aims to advance both fundamental and applied science providing answers to basic questions about the nature of matter and providing tangible and immediate benefits to our way of life by improved communication, fabrication, and sensing technologies.