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Physics and Astronomy Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (AMO)

View weird quantum effects in the Bose-Einstein Condenstate laboratory. Investigate the theory of cold quantum gases, many-body physics, chaos, and complexity. Here, the “normal” rules do not apply.

Research on Novel States of Matter focuses on ultracold quantum gases and systems that exhibit chaos and complexity. Exceptionally strong theoretical and experimental programs in this area give students research experience at the frontiers of physics.

magnetic trapDr. Peter Engels conducts experiments with quantum degenerate gases, including Bose-Einstein Condensates and degenerate Fermi gases. In these experiments, laser cooling and evaporative cooling are employed to cool atoms to temperatures which are nearly at zero Kelvin, revealing genuine quantum mechanical behavior of matter waves. The picture shows the magnetic atom trap used in confining the atoms.

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