Time-Dependent Hydrodynamics in Uniform Fermi Gases

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Gasses of ultracold atoms can be used to controllably explore physics concepts relevant in many fields beyond that of atomic physics. This project will explore time-dependent fluid flow in a new designer quantum system, comprising an ultracold gas of atoms confined in an “optical box” made entirely of laser light. The atoms used in these tabletop experiments will be controlled to attract or repel each other as weakly or as strongly as desired to simulate exotic quantum systems in nature. Measurements in this system will impact theories of nearly perfect fluid flow, which existed just after the Big Bang, and theories of new materials, such as super-high temperature superconductors that operate far above room temperature. The latter may one day enable energy-saving power lines and magnetically levitated trains. Students and post-doctoral associates will design new optical systems, new computer control and mechanical systems, and study electrodynamics and quantum mechanics, broadly training them for challenges arising in science and technology.The PI, post-doctoral associate and graduate students will study uniform density Fermi gases of 6Li atoms, trapped in the “optical box.” A micromirror array will be used to project a dynamically controlled optical perturbation that creates a static, sinusoidal density profile. Hydrodynamic transport properties, such as the shear viscosity and thermal conductivity, will be measured directly from the time-dependent evolution of the sinusoidal density profile after the perturbation is extinguished. With controllable density, temperature, spin composition and interaction strength, these experiments offer new opportunities to explore concepts that cross interdisciplinary boundaries, including independent measurement of transport properties in normal and super fluid strongly interacting quantum fluids and new tests of recent conformal field theory predictions for interacting scale-invariant systems.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.