Applications are invited for experimental PhD positions in the field of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) and atom optics at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia.

The atom optics group is headed Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Associate Professor Norman Heckenberg. There are currently another two full-time staff, along with four postdoctoral fellows and four PhD students working in the area.

Our research interests include

quantum nonlinear dynamics and dynamical tunneling in cold atoms

creation of a micro-BEC on an atom chip

development of atom chip technology

single atom detection and counting

The is also the possibility of interacting with the theoretical BEC and quantum optics group within the Department of Physics. The University of Queensland is one of the leading universities in Australia, with a subtropical climate, high standard of living, and relaxed lifestyle.

Top-up scholarships are available for exceptional candidates who secure their own funding. Information on UQ scholarships and studying at UQ can be found at http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/

Our group website is http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/atomoptics/. More information can be obtained from Prof. Rubinsztein-Dunlop via email: halina@physics.uq.edu.au.

Applications are invited for theoretical PhD positions in the field of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), atom optics, and quantum optics at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia.

The theoretical BEC and quantum optics team is headed by Professor Peter Drummond. The group currently consists of two other staff members, three postdoctoral fellows, and three PhD students.

Our research interests include

creation of molecular BECs and superchemistry

creation of entangled atomic beams

first principles simulations of BEC quantum dynamics

development of new stochastic methods for quantum dynamics

quantum solitons in atom optics

formation of BECs from evaporatively cooled vapours

simulations of the thermal properties of Bose condensed gases

ultra-short pulses in optical fibres and development of logic devices

development of XmdS - the eXtensible multi-dimensional Simulator for solving ordinary, partial, and stochastic DEs (www.XmdS.org)

topics in quantum information including macroscopic EPR and Bell inequalities

The opportunity also exists for interaction with the "BEC on a chip" experiment underway in the Department of Physics. The University of Queensland is one of the leading universities in Australia, with a subtropical climate, high standard of living, and relaxed lifestyle.

Top-up scholarships are available for exceptional candidates who secure their own funding. Information on UQ scholarships and studying at UQ can be found at http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/

Our group website is http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/BEC/. More information can be obtained from Prof. Drummond via email: drummond@physics.uq.edu.au.

The Department of Physics has a scholarship to offer which involves working with Dr Ross McKenzie (www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/mckenzie/mckenzie.html) on a project concerning the physics associated with quantum magnetism in nanostructured magnetic clays that can be inserted in polymer matrices.

This is an interdisciplinary project funded by the new UQ Nanomaterials Centre (www.nanomac.uq.edu.au) and involves collaboration with members of the departments of Chemical Engineering and Mining, Minerals and Materials Engineering.

Applicants should have an honours degree (preferably first class), a strong background and interest in theoretical physics and solid state physics, as well as a strong desire and ability to interact with researchers from other disciplines.

Conditions for the scholarship will be the same as those for the Australian Postgraduate Research Award (APA) with a tax free stipend of $17,267 per annum during PhD candidature of 3.5 years.

Send applications to the address below. Applicants should include a transcript of their full academic record and a short statement of why they are interested in the project. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Dr. Ross McKenzie
Department of Physics
University of Queensland
Brisbane Qld 4072
Australia

email: mckenzie@physics.uq.edu.au.

Phone: 07 3365-3421
Fax: 07 3365-1242

Supervisors: Prof Peter Drummond and Dr Karen Kheruntsyan

This is a completely novel field; coherent superchemistry inside atomic BECs. We predict an enormously enhanced, coherent interaction - quite distinct from conventional chemical kinetics. Experiments based on this theory are now underway at University of Texas, and Rice University, whom we are working with. The first results on molecule production in a BEC were published recently in Science, from the Texas group. One objective of the research is to obtain molecular BEC formation. A longer term objective is to create new quantum-correlated states of BEC matter, by using the nonlinear interactions in the quantum limit, in a similar way to the use of nonlinear interactions in quantum optics - which create correlated photonic fields. Thus, one of the main objectives will be to include effects of quantum fluctuations, which are not yet well-understood, and to investigate different theoretical methods for treating quantum fluctuations.

In this project, the purpose will be to work with the new results from the experimentalists, and to calculate optimum conditions for superchemistry, based on experimentally measured cross-sections, spontaneous emission lifetimes, and coupling laser intensities. Results will include both cw and pulsed (STIRAP) molecular conversion techniques.
 

Supervisor: Prof Peter Drummond, K. Kheruntsyan, and M. Gould (Maths Dept)

Atoms develop a completely wave-like character at temperatures of nanoKelvins; that is, less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. The cooling and trapping of large numbers of atoms at these temperatures has led to the discovery of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), sometimes called an atom laser. An important feature of all real BECs is the presence of strong atom-atom interactions, which were neglected in the original work of Bose and Einstein. These effects are usually taken into account by the `mean-field' approximation, which averages over the condensate, thus ignoring fluctuations and correlations. However, quantum correlations are becoming of increasing importance in understanding BECs, especially in newer devices that involve smaller traps and low dimensional environments: an experiment is planned to take place at UQ during 2002.

It is expected that the international focus of research in this field will shift more and more towards correlation studies, especially given possible applications to areas like high-precision measurements and tests of quantum mechanics. These are especially sensitive to issues of noise and correlations. In addition, there is an outstanding opportunity to advance theoretical and mathematical physics by further investigating and subsequently experimentally testing some famous exactly soluble models in theoretical physics, which are applicable to a BEC in the one-dimensional atom waveguides under current experimental investigation. Finally, we may expect in future to use atom lasers to carry out important new tests of quantum mechanics of macroscopic significance, in a multi-particle environment. These could test, for example, recent proposals that gravitational effects may cause decoherence in massive entangled quantum systems.

The University of Queensland is already involved in some of these new developments, in joint projects with D. Heinzen of University of Texas, and the group of Nobel prize-winner W. Phillips at NIST (Maryland). From the theoretical point of view, there are two feasible techniques for calculating what to expect in quantum theory: one can use certain exactly soluble models, which are of great mathematical interest, although restricted to particular configurations; or, one can use quantum simulation methods of computational physics. It is also important to consider exactly which observable properties are of most interest in demonstrating new physical phenomena.

One of the most exciting areas in studies of quantum correlations is the field of quantum entanglement, which provides, through the Bell inequality, the strongest known test of quantum mechanics. The Physics Department has a world reputation already in this area. This multi-disciplinary project is intended to combine both the innovative computational methods and physical understanding of quantum correlations developed in the Physics Department, together with the skills in exactly soluble models developed in the Mathematics Department.

Supervisor: Prof Peter Drummond (Starting: Sept 2002)

Mode-locked lasers are now being used for new frequency standards. They are able to produce a range of frequencies, and hence can provide a digital comb of different frequencies that cover the entire frequency spectrum. Novel frequency standards are now under development that promise accuracy of one part in 1018. Although this figure is not yet reached, a frequency stability of this sort would allow novel fundamental tests in physics, including tests of QED, and measurements of any possible long-term time-variation in the fundamental constants of nature.

A novel type of mode-locked laser was developed at Auckland University recently, which uses a high-Q mode-locker to increase intra-cavity power levels. This means that, for a given pulse-width, the spontaneous emission noise is reduced. It is possible that this type of superfluorescent mode-locked laser would give increased frequency stability in future frequency standards.

In this project, the topic is an investigation of the frequency stability of mode-locked superfluorescent lasers, to see if it is possible to have an improved performance relative to existing non-superfluorescent mode-locked lasers. The project will also investigate phonon noise introduced by the photonic fiber crystals which are employed to further increase the laser digital comb bandwidth.

Supervisors: Prof Peter Drummond and Mr Greg Collecutt

This is an investigation into numerical techniques for parallel simulations of quantum lattices. It will involve setting up a cluster of Linux workstations using Beowulf clustering software, running C++ simulation codes, with parallel message-passing. It will provide an excellent introduction to modern open-source computational methods. Hardware will be available for the project under an ARC large grant, and the clustering software is public-domain, open source code.

The long-term project will involve investigating the comparison between quantum dynamical and canonical models for the BEC ground state, in a three-dimensional atom trap, and implementing a model of the atom-molecular interaction process. The software development model uses a novel type of high-level scripting language called XMDS based on XML, to allow for rapid application development. This basic software component is already developed and tested.

If feasible, this project may involve a second-generation version of XMDS, in which a library of algorithms is combined with a simplified XMDS kernel written in JAVA.

Supervisor: Prof Peter Drummond (Starting: Sept 2002)

This project is to investigate a novel type of quantum electrodynamic Lagrangian formulation which implements an explicit dual symmetry (interchange of E and B fields) at the level of the Lagrangian action principal and Hamiltonian.

The purpose is to develop applications of the new technique to problems involving the cavity QED of atoms embedded in nonlinear and linear dielectric media, photonic band-gap materials, micro-cavities, and similar types of atom-dielectric systems.

At a deeper level, the project is intended to explore the symmetries of QED that can be treated with dual symmetric Lagrangians. These include the dual charge or helicity, as well as the novel squeezed charge that one obtains from considering scale transformations.