The University of Queensland
Department of Mathematics
Mathematical Physics Seminar
On the exact solution of a model for atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensation
Dr. Jon Links
The The University of Queensland
Thurday, June 6, 1pm
Room 641, Priestley (Mathematics) Building
The field of Bose-Einstein condensation, particularly in the context of the atomic alkali gases, is presently l'enfant cheri of current topics in physics, with the 2001 Nobel Prize awarded in this area. The alkali gases offer many novel applications, such as the prospect of a tunable system in which quantum tunneling can be observed at a macroscopic level. A very recent development has been the creation of an entangled Bose-Einstein condensate comprised of coherent superpositions of atomic and diatomic molecular states (specifically, through using rubidium. See Nature 417 (30 May 2002) 493, 529, available at www.nature.com). Such an intimate pas de deux between two chemically distinct materials may be considered as a (chemical, as opposed to biological,) realisation of Schroedinger's cat.
For the analysis of a model quantum mechanical system, it is de rigeur to go beyond a mean field approach and solve the model exactly whenever the mean-square fluctuations of relevant expectation values are significant. This is precisely the case for the entangled condensate cited above, which sets forth the raison d'etre of this talk discussing the exact solution of a two-mode model describing the basic physics of an atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensate. The exact solution makes accessible an analysis of the energy spectrum and certain zero temperature correlation functions, and establishes the scaling properties of the model.
This is joint work with Huan-Qiang Zhou and Ross McKenzie.
All interested are invited to attend.
Enquires to Yao-Zhong Zhang on 3365 2309 or yzz@maths.uq.edu.au