Atoms, ions and fields in traps and cavities

Abstract

This research proposal will be developed simultaneously by researchers of both, the Department of Physics and Materials Science of the Institute of Physics of São Carlos (DFCM/IFSC/USP) and the Department of Physics of the Federal University of São Carlos (DF/UFSCar). The part that will be developed in the DFCM consists of three topics: (a) cold collisions mediated by photons,(b) Bose-Einstein condensates of alkaly-metal atoms magnetically confined, and (c) properties of the continuous and discrete quantum phase space, with emphasis on the reconstruction of quantum states by homodyne detection. The part that will be developed in the DF/UFSCar consists of five topics: (d) influence of quantum effects on the motion and the collisions of ultracold atoms, (e) quantum phenomena in cavities with moving walls, (f) decoherence and relaxation in coupled quantum systems, (g) implementation and treatment of errors of quantum processes involving communication and computing and finally, (h) engineering of non-classical states of the center of mass motion of a trapped ion.(a) Cold collisions mediated by photons. This line of research unfolds into three sub-topics: coldatom photoassociation, optical suppression and control of cold collisions, and atomic losses of magnetooptical traps.... (AU)