Special Condensed Matter & AMO Seminar

Marlan O. Scully
Texas A&M University and Princeton University

Thursday, November 6, 2008
1:00 pm in SPL 52

The Laser-BEC Analogy

Abstract: The study of fluctuations of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a subtle problem with many pitfalls and surprises [1]. For example, a simple analytical treatment of fluctuations near the critical temperature has only recently been achieved [2]. In particular, we find that a master equation approach, having much in common with the quantum theory of the laser, yields an accurate and physically transparent picture of BEC fluctuations.

[1] Adv. In Atom. Mol., and Opt. Phys., 53, 291 (2006).
[2] PRL, 97, 190402 (2006).