Disorder and Dynamics in Solids and Superfluids

技术总结该奖项支持从经典系统到量子系统的非平衡统计物理的理论研究和教育。这项研究将集中在三个方面：随机固体的结构和动力学，超流氦在纳米孔阵列中的非平衡态和雪崩，以及光子腔中激光驱动原子系统的有序化结构和动力学。随机固体是通过随机选择的成分的永久化学键形成的材料，硫化橡胶就是很好的例子。这种结合创造了一种新的物质状态，它获得了非零的剪切模数和成分的空间局部化-但没有远程结晶度。PI过去的工作导致了对简单随机固体的静态平衡结构和弹性的相当精细的理解。PI将发展对简单随机固体及其母体液体的动力学的理解，以及当材料表现出长程或短程液晶时，这种有序性如何与随机固体的结构相互作用。为了实现这些目标，将应用强大的统计机械工具，适当地和具有指导意义地解释这种材料所具有的深度随机的化学水平结构。在伯克利研究小组的美丽实验的推动下，PI计划解决氦超流通过数千纳米级约瑟夫森气孔阵列的性质。连接两个水库。皮埃尔？S最近的著作认为，流动的性质关键取决于？隐藏的？超流体的“弹性”和无序之间的竞争，这是由于孔与孔之间的差异引起的。这项工作表明，超流中跨越系统的集体“破裂”可以发生在弱无序，但不能发生在强无序，这些状态被一个非平衡相变分开，这个相变在几个凝聚态和地球物理环境中都有前因。PI计划构建一个详细的氦超流通过纳米孔阵列的理论，该理论结合了涨落和实验几何的影响，并建立了流动动力学的统计特征。激光驱动的原子气体被困在高精细的光腔中，预计将经历迷人的非平衡量子相变，达到原子之间强烈的自发组织状态，原子之间的自发组织自洽地填充在腔辐射的某些模式的偶数或奇数反节点中。对于设计合理的腔，这些跃迁预计会伴随着原子组织的强烈波动，这将把自己印在从腔中泄漏的光的空间和时间相关性上。PI的目标是应用广泛的凝聚态技术来全面了解有序性、其稳态波动以及实现这种非平衡稳态的丰富动力学。非技术总结该奖项支持一项跨越硬凝聚态物理和软凝聚态物理学的理论研究和教育计划，该计划研究的是不平衡的系统和材料，其中随机性起着重要的作用。国际和平研究所将在三个方面进行研究。在第一部分中，PI将研究随机固体的性质？由长链状分子组成的网络构成的材料，其中的链在任意位置相互连接。在第二个领域，PI将研究超流氦的流动，超流氦是一种低温液体，具有显著的性质，如无耗散流动的能力，通过一组纳米尺度的孔。在第三个领域中，PI将研究光学腔中原子气体的非平衡相，以及当使用激光时它们之间的跃迁。这三个研究领域推动了统计物理学领域的发展，统计物理学试图发现表征远离平衡的系统的普遍原理，并将看似不相关的系统联系起来。从物理学的角度来看，生物可能提供了远非平衡的系统的最熟悉的例子。这是一项基础性研究，将促进我们对远离平衡的系统和材料的理解。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research and education on nonequilibrium statistical physics spanning from classical to quantum systems. The research will focus on three areas: the structure and dynamics of random solids, non-equilibrium states and avalanching in superfluid helium flowing through nanopore arrays, and the structure and dynamics of ordering in laser-driven atomic systems housed in photonic cavities. Random solids are materials created via the permanent chemical bonding of randomly selected constituents, and are well exemplified by vulcanized rubber. This bonding creates a new state of matter, which acquires a nonzero shear modulus and spatial localization of its constituents - but with no long-range crystallinity. The PI's past work of has led to a fairly refined understanding of the static equilibrium structure and elasticity of simple random solids. The PI will develop an understanding of dynamics in simple random solids and their parent liquids, and when the materials exhibit long- or short-range liquid crystallinity, how this ordering interacts with the structure of the random solid. To accomplish these goals powerful statistical-mechanical tools will be applied that properly and instructively account for the deeply random chemical-level architecture that such materials possess. Motivated by beautiful experiments due to the Berkeley group, the PI plans to address the nature of helium superflow through arrays of thousands of nanoscale ?Josephson pores? connecting two reservoirs. The PI?s recent work argues that the qualitative nature of the flow depends crucially on a ?hidden? competition between superfluid "elasticity" and disorder, which arises from pore-to-pore variability. This work suggests that collective system-spanning "ruptures" in the superflow can occur at weak, but not at strong, disorder, these regimes being separated by a non-equilibrium phase transition that has antecedents in several condensed-matter and geophysical settings. The PI plans to construct a detailed theory of helium superflow through nanopore arrays that incorporates the effects of fluctuations and experiment geometry, and builds a statistical characterization of the flow dynamics. Laser-driven atomic gases, trapped in high-finesse optical cavities are expected to undergo fascinating nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions to states of strong, spontaneous organization among the atoms, which self-consistently populate either the even or the odd anti-nodes of certain modes of the cavity radiation. For suitably designed cavities, these transitions are expected to be accompanied by strong fluctuations in the atomic organization, which will imprint themselves on the spatial and temporal correlations of the light leaking from the cavity. The PI aims to apply a wide array of condensed matter techniques in developing a thorough picture of the ordering, its steady-state fluctuations, and the rich kinetics via which this nonequilibrium steady state is achieved. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports a theoretical research and education program across hard and soft condensed matter physics with the study of systems and materials that are out of equilibrium and in which randomness plays an important role. The PI will conduct research in three areas. In the first the PI will study the properties of random solids ? materials made of a network of long chain-like molecules in which the chains are linked to each other at random places. In the second area the PI will study the flow of superfluid helium, a liquid at low temperature with remarkable properties such as the ability to flow without dissipation, through an array of nanoscale pores. In the third area the PI will study the nonequilbrium phases of atomic gases in an optical cavity and transitions among them that arise when a laser is applied. These three areas of research advance the field of statistical physics which seeks to discover universal principles that characterize systems that are far from equilibrium and link seemingly unrelated systems. From a physical point of view, living things provide perhaps the most familiar example of systems that are far from equilibrium. This is fundamental research that will advance our understanding of systems and materials that are far from equilibrium.