Collective dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical cavities

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Dr Jonathan Keeling, St Andrews
• Thursday 21 October 2010, 12:00-13:00
• Theory Library.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Dimitri M Gangardt.

Recent experiments¹ on Bose-Einstein condensates in optical cavities have reported a quantum phase transition to a coherent state of the matter-light system – superradiance. The time dependent nature of these experiments demands consideration of collective dynamics. I will first review the various different phenomena which have been refereed to as superradiance, and the connection between these phenomena, in terms of the archetypal Dicke model. I will thus explain the obstacles to realising the superradiance transition, and how these obstacles may be circumvented, both in the recent experiment of Baumann et al.[1], as well as in other coupled light-matter systems. I will then discuss the dynamics of the coupled light-matter system studied by Baumann et al, and show ho by varying experimentally controllable parameters, one finds a much richer phase diagram than for the simple Dicke model². The richness of this phase diagram arises from including the effects of cavity leakage, back-reaction of the light field on the atomic states, and the combination of co- and counter-rotating wave coupling terms.

[1] K. Baumann, C. Guerlin, F. Brennecke and T. Esslinger, Nature 464, 1301 (2010) [2] J. Keeling, M. J. Bhaseen and B. D. Simons Phys. Rev. Lett 105 043001 (2010)

This talk is part of the Theoretical Physics Seminars series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Bham Talks
• Theoretical Physics Seminars
• Theory Library
• What's on in Physics?

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.