Collective effects in optically dense atomic clouds

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this proposal is to develop a novel theoretical framework to describe both, coherent and dissipative processes in dense atomic samples, and to apply this theory in several experimentally relevant situations. The aim is to describe the effects involving multi-atom quantum correlations due to dipole-dipole coupling mediated by radiation fields. The basis for the proposed work is a formalism that can successfully describe atom-field interactions in dense gases by reducing a many-body multi-mode Hamiltonian to an effective single-atom equation. The formalism will be applied to investigate the following problems: (i) application of this formalism to novel experimental setups such as dense quasi-one dimensional atomic clouds on surface magnetic traps (\atom chips"); (ii) generalization of the formalism to include dipole-dipole quantum correlations; (iii) chirping in a superradiant system; (iv) special investigation of super- and subradiant states and comparison with few-atom models; (v) using the outcome of the above calculations to interpret and predict realistic systems, in particular in a quasi-1D ultracold atom cloud on an atom chip and an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms.