CAREER: Few-Body and Many-Body Theory of Ultracold Atoms and Molecules

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to investigate strongly interacting ultracold atoms and molecules. The PI will study novel few-body states and search for new exact results for the many-body systems. Most results will be very quantitative and free from uncontrolled approximations. There are a number of topics which will be studied, including three- and five-body Efimov states, states where the atom is constrained in one or more dimensions, for example near a surface, and atomic or molecular states near a Feshbach resonance. In addition, the PI will derive exact relations for strongly interacting Fermi gases and density profiles for quantum gases near a wall. With the advance of technology, mankind can now actively manipulate the microscopic world. It is particularly useful to cool atoms and molecules to temperatures that are billions of times closer to absolute zero than the background of the universe. High precision atomic clocks, for example, are only possible with sufficiently cold atoms. In order to study these systems, one must solve the Schrödinger equation, which is challenging even for just a few atoms. In many cases, the lack of an adequate solution has hampered the understanding of the behaviors of ultracold atoms and molecules. The new research directions in this project will provide a guide for the ongoing experiments on ultracold atoms and molecules. Because of the quantum similarity between cold atoms and other particles, such as electrons in solid state materials and protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei (they all satisfy the Schrödinger equation), theoretical research of ultracold atoms and molecules may also shed new light on material science and nuclear science. The PI plans to integrate his research and educational activities by creating a special topics course on Few-Body Quantum Physics and training doctoral students who will learn advanced scientific and mathematical techniques.