The MCQST Colloquium Series features interdisciplinary talks given by visiting international speakers. The monthly colloquium covers topics spanning all MCQST research units and will be broadcast live via Zoom for audiences worldwide. The main goal of the series is to create the framework for idea exchange, to strengthen links with QST leading groups worldwide, as well as to act as an integral part of the local educational environment.

MCQST Colloquium: Markus Oberthaler

We are excited to invite you to the colloquium talk by Markus Oberthaler (University of Heidelberg). You can join us in-person at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics at the above address, or online via the Zoom link below:

https://lmu-munich.zoom.us/j/99897798115
Meeting ID: 998 9779 8115
Passcode: mcqst2023

Talk Information

Quantum Technology: from Oceanography to Cosmology

The experimental platform of atoms manipulated by light is extremely versatile and can be used to address fundamental questions in very different fields of physics. In this colloquium I will give two explicit, but in nature maximally different, examples, how modern atomic physics experiment open new avenues for studying dynamics.

One fundamental question in oceanography is the dynamics of water, more specifically the time when deep water in the ocean was last in exchange with the atmosphere. This information is especially important for estimating the uptake of anthropogenic CO2. I will discuss why Argon 39 atoms are a perfect choice for addressing these questions and why it is such a challenge to unleash their potential [1].

A very different fundamental question is the dynamics of a quantum scalar field in time dependent spacetime. I will summarize our recent results on the implementation of a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric for a scalar quantum field with control over spatial as well temporal curvature [2]. The quantitative agreement of the expected particle production in expanding spacetime with new analytical solutions confirms the performance of our simulator for quantum fields.

[1] Spurensuche in der Umwelt, M. Oberthaler and W. Aeschbach, Physik Journal, 11 (2021) 25-30.

[2] Quantum field simulator for dynamics in curved spacetime, C. Viermann et al. arXiv:2202.10399.

This colloquium was rescheduled from its original date in July 2022.