Description:

Title: Non-equilibrium dynamics of a quantum pendulum

Speaker: Mike Chapman, Georgia Tech

Abstract: An inverted pendulum at rest is a prototype of unstable mechanical equilibrium. While mechanical pendulums operating at the quantum limit are currently unavailable in the lab, it is possible to study ultracold atomic many-body systems that have similar dynamical behavior.  In this talk, I will describe our recent measurements of the non-equilibrium dynamics of a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate ‘pendulum’. Evolution of the quantum fluctuations lead to spin squeezing and highly entangled non-Gaussian states. Additionally, we have demonstrated stabilization of the non-equilibrium dynamics by periodic application of phase shifts to the collective states of the system. These experiments demonstrate new methods of controlling out-of-equilibrium quantum many-body systems, drawing together ideas from classical Hamiltonian dynamics and quantum squeezing of collective states.

Host: Brian Odom

Speaker Schedule

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, colloquium