Quantum many-body systems with Rydberg atoms

现代凝聚态物理的中心课题之一是量子多体系统的研究。具有可控长程相互作用的量子多体系统在量子计算技术及其物理模拟等方面发挥着重要的作用，人们已经知道，通过激光将中性原子修整到所谓的里德堡态，可以诱导长程相互作用。处于里德伯态的原子在其原子核和外部电子之间具有弱结合（即，外层电子远离原子核），这种弱结合导致原子内的大极化，进而导致里德伯态原子之间的强偶极相互作用。激光可控远程相互作用的优点是相互作用将是高度可定制的。研究人员现在不仅可以打开或关闭相互作用，还可以通过调整入射激光来改变相互作用的形状，从而可以通过实验构建更复杂的量子多体系统。围绕这些新的量子系统的理论研究将是活跃的，新的分析或数值方法很可能围绕这些量子系统发展。博士研究将集中在应用新的数值方法来研究量子多体系统的自由或被困里德伯原子。

One of the central topics of modern condensed matter physics is the studies of quantum many-body systems. Quantum many-body systems with controllable long-range interactions play important roles in, for instance, technologies of quantum computation and its corresponding simulations at physical level.It has been known that long-range interactions can be induced with laser dressing (neutral) atoms into the so-called Rydberg state. Atoms in Rydberg state have weak binding between its nucleus and outer electrons (i.e., the outer electrons are far away from its nucleus), such weak binding causes large polarization within the atom and in turn leads to strong dipole interactions between atoms in Rydberg state. The advantage of laser controllable long-range interaction is that the interaction would be highly customizable. Researchers can now not only turn on or off the interaction but also change the shape of the interaction by tuning the incoming laser, so that more complex quantum many-body systems can be experimentally constructed. Theoretical researches around these new quantum systems would be active, new analytical or numerical methods are most likely developed around these quantum systems. The PhD research will focus on applying novel numerical methods to study quantum many-body systems of either free or trapped Rydberg atoms.