Macroscopic QED and atom-surface interactions: unusual material properties and extreme states of matter

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• Stefan Scheel (Rostock and Imperial College)
• Friday 01 June 2012, 14:00-15:00
• Physics East 217.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Vincent Boyer.

In this talk I will briefly review the basic principles of electromagnetic field quantisation in the presence of macroscopic matter, and explain its relevance to the quantum interaction between (isolated) microscopic particles and macroscopic surfaces. I will concentrate on two aspects of atom-surface interactions—- decoherence and dispersion forces (Casimir, Casimir-Polder and van der Waals forces). Both effects can be understood within the framework of macroscopic QED as spatially dependent relaxation processes and line shift mechanisms, respectively. I will present examples of highly excited atoms and weakly bound molecules that are particularly susceptible to changes in dispersion forces.

This talk is part of the Cold Atoms series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Bham Talks
• Cold Atoms
• Physics East 217
• What's on in Physics?

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