W&M Featured Events
[PAST EVENT] Physics Colloquium - Jose D'Incao
Access & Features
- Open to the public
Jose D'Incao, Associate Fellow JILA, Title of talk: The complex nature of few-atom interactions: the physics of forbidden molecules
Abstract:
In the past few decades, the progress made by the field of ultracold quantum gases has increasingly been translated into promising prospects for controlling atomic and molecular behavior. The present-day experimental ability to manipulate interactions and to precisely prepare the system in a well-defined quantum state enables ultracold quantum gases to access a variety of complex few-body phenomena at an unprecedented level of detail. This progress has, for instance, allowed for the exploration of the strongly interacting regime in which unique and counterintuitive molecular states, such as Feshbach and Efimov, exist. In this talk, I will discuss how the microscopic control of the underlying interactions responsible for such states have revolutionized the research in both fields of few-body physics and ultracold quantum gases, ultimately allowing for the exploration of novel phases of the matter. I will also highlight the prospects of using such molecular states as a source of entangled atomic states to create new classes of matter-wave interferometers, with applications in both fundamental science and technology.
Sponsored by: Physics