Jarrod Reilly - Particle Slowing Using Quantum Shortcuts

 Particle Slowing Using Quantum Shortcuts

For decades, cooling atoms and molecules to near absolute zero has been at the forefront of physics research. Physicist use the ultracold particles to test fundamental physics, create new forms of matter, and as quantum simulators. Often, a preliminary step to cooling particles is to first slow them down to speeds of about one meter per second. However, many modern slowing processes require a long time, and thus the particles travel a large distance, sometimes as much as 3 meters, before coming to a stop. To overcome this problem, I use quantum shortcuts to speed up the slowing process and thus reduce the slowing distance required to the order of centimeters. In this talk, I will teach you how quantum systems change when they interact with a laser, explain how particles are slowed with lasers traditionally, and then explain how to implement these shortcuts to create new slowing techniques.

 Jarrod Reilly

 Holland Group