Gerhard Rempe
Quantum gases with and without losses
Gerhard Rempe, Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Loss of particles from a quantum system can be advantageous. In quantum optics, for example, the loss of photons is intimately related to the quantum measurement process and can be employed for the production of novel quantum states. In atom optics, inelastic collisions between ultracold molecules in an optical lattice have been used to generate a highly correlated Tonks-Girardeau gas and to inhibit matter-wave tunnelling by means of the Zeno effect [1]. In most cases, however, loss of particles represents a disadvantage. The recently demonstrated ability to control with light elastic collisions between ultracold atoms in a regime of only moderate losses thus opens up an avenue for a new class of experiments where the interaction strength varies on microscopic length scales [2].
[1] N. Syassen et al., Science 320, 1329 (2008).
[2] D.M. Bauer et al., Nature Physics 5, 339 (2009).
