Looking Through Simple Atoms and Molecules at Fundamental Physics

R. Baine Harris

1. Special Relativity. 2. Waves and Particles I: Electromagnetic Radiation Behaving as Particles. 3. Waves and Particles II: Matter Behaving as Waves. 4. Bound States: Simple Cases. 5. Unbound States: Obstacles, Tunneling, and Particle-Wave Propagation. 6. Quantum Mechanics in Three Dimensions and the Hydrogen Atom. 7. Spin and Atomic Physics. 8. Statistical Mechanics. 9. Bonding: Molecules and Solids. 10. Nuclear Physics. 11. Fundamental Particles and Interactions. Appendices.

V. W. Hughes

Gary Quaresima

Condensed matter physics is a rich field with a wide variety of phenomena. In condensed matter, we consider systems composed of many electrons and nuclei, with the only fundamental interaction being electromagnetism. Nuclei of a given charge and mass are considered as point particles. The relevant fundamental physics that we use as our foundations is the quantum many-body problem. That is, just standard many-body quantum mechanics, but formulated in terms of a useful second quantized field theory, which can deal with an arbitrary number of particles within a single Hilbert space. In general, this many-body problem is essentially intractable for numbers of particles as large as those we must consider for materials. Thus we must look for simplifications and look at easily measurable aspects which allow us to make predictions still. We employ the trick of phrasing the questions differently. Rather than look at the time evolution of an arbitrary many-body wavefunction for the fundamental degrees of freedom, we look at transport in scenarios where the starting point is a relatively simple assumed equilibrium state of the material, consisting of a ground state with postulated quasiparticle excitations.

Savely G. Karshenboim, Francesco Saverio Pavone

Ken Takase, Larry A. Rahn, David W. Chandler +1 more

We propose a new scheme for the production of milli-Kelvin molecules via kinematic cooling through collisions with atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). We will discuss the kinematic conditions necessary for producing cold molecules, the limits of the final attainable temperatures and the experimental implementation of this technique. Finally, we will look at some specific physical systems and discuss the effectiveness of kinematic cooling inside a MOT.

Hermann Haken, Hans Christoph Wolf