Squeezing in Spinor Bose Condensates

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The primary goal of this research is to utilize spin-1 condensates to generate spin-squeezed states and to investigate their applications to enhanced quantum metrology. Spin squeezing and spin entanglement are important themes in ultra-cold atomic physics due to potential applications in precision metrology. Investigations of these phenomena will further basic understanding of interacting quantum spin systems. There is much interest in many-body physics beyond the mean field approximation and, in particular, in the creation and detection of nonclassical, quantum correlated states of the atomic fields. This research will probe the system size scale where mean-field semi-classical approaches break down and quantum calculations are required. We will access this nonclassical regime experimentally by using smaller condensates and employing state-of-the-art atom detection techniques providing atom counting precision better than the Poissonian fluctuation level of classical states. Ultra-cold atoms and molecules are important tools in studies of low-energy collisions, quantum degenerate gases (including Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases) and precision measurements of fundamental constants and symmetries. Technological applications of these systems include precision sensors for navigation and magnetometry, atomic clocks and emerging quantum technologies including quantum information and communication.