Research

The experiments in the Wright group involve cooling a small, dilute gas of lithium atoms down to less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. Lithium has two isotopes, one with an odd number of constituent particles (Li-6), and one with an even number (Li-7). This subtle difference becomes extremely important at low temperatures. The isotope Li-6 is a “composite Fermion” and can behave in a manner very much like an electron does in a superconductor.  The work we are doing should help address important problems for many fields of physics, including condensed matter, nuclear, high-energy, and astrophysics. Insights gained through these explorations will facilitate new approaches for predicting the behavior of quantum materials, potentially enabling technological developments in power distribution, sensor technologies, and both classical and quantum computing.

 

 

Recent Posts

Manuscript on Thermal Phase Fluctuations Submitted to PRA

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Parth Sabharwal has completed an extensive study of thermal phase fluctuations appearing in narrow superfluid rings, testing some interesting predictions made by a colleague Ludwig Mathey over a decade ago, and we have submitted a manuscript describing his work to Physical Review A.

Thermal Phase Fluctuations in Narrow Superfluid Rings (arXiv)

Using matter-wave interference, we have investigated thermal phase fluctuations in narrow coplanar, concentric rings of ultracold fermionic superfluids. We found that the correlation length decreases with number density, consistent with theoretical expectations. We also observed that increasing the coupling between the rings leads to greater overall coherence in the system. The phase fluctuations increased with a change from periodic to closed boundary conditions as we applied a potential barrier at one point in a ring. These results are relevant for the implementation of proposals to utilize ultracold quantum gases in large and elongated circuit-like geometries, especially those that require deterministic preparation and control of quantized circulation states.

  1. Paper on Quench-Induced Spontaneous Currents Published in PRA Comments Off on Paper on Quench-Induced Spontaneous Currents Published in PRA
  2. Congratulations to Dr. Allman Comments Off on Congratulations to Dr. Allman
  3. Mitigating Fermion Hole Heating Comments Off on Mitigating Fermion Hole Heating
  4. Published in Physical Review Letters Comments Off on Published in Physical Review Letters