Investigation of coherent manipulations in ultracold thermal and Bose-Einstein condensed molecular gases

• Antragstellerin: Professorin Dr. Christiane Koch
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Optik, Quantenoptik und Physik der Atome, Moleküle und Plasmen
• Förderung: Förderung von 2003 bis 2006
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5411949

The research project will theoretically investigate the creation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate by means of photoassociation. This allows to build on the extensive knowledge of photoassociation and to investigate similarities and differences between a condensate and a cold thermal ensemble. In molecule formation, correlations between atoms become important, and effective mean-field descriptions of Bose-Einstein condensates become invalid. A field theoretical approach currently developed in the group of F. Masnou-Seeuws (CNRS Laboratoire Aimé Cotton, Orsay), takes into account pair correlations due to the spatial dependence of the interaction potential of two colliding atoms. This approach shall be extended to include a time-dependence of the laser field and the presence of non-condensed atoms. The optimal control theory approach of the group of R. Kosloff (Hebrew University Jerusalem) can then be employed to optimize the creation of a stable molecular Bose-Einstein condensate and to predict photoassociation rates. Depending on the laser pulse parameters, the timescales of molecule formation and condensate dynamics can be separated. The noncondensed atoms can then be treated as a thermal bath. The outlined methodology shall be applied to photoassociation of Na2 (sodium dimer) and Cs2 (cesium dimer). The extension of the method to dipolar molecules such as heteronuclear alkali dimers shall be investigated.

• DFG-Verfahren: Forschungsstipendien
• Internationaler Bezug: Frankreich