I: Bose-Einstein Condensation.- Claude COHEN-TANNOUDJI Bose-Einstein Condensation: An Introduction.- Sebastien BALIBAR Looking Back at Superfluid Helium 17.- Gora V. SHLYAPNIKOV Condensed Matter Approaches to Quantum Gases.- Jean DALIBARD and Christophe SALOMON Experiments with Cold Atoms.- Philippe NOZIERES Bose-Einstein Condensation and Quantum Coherence:From Superfluidity to Localization,from Fermi Liquids to Superconductors.- II: Entropy.- Olivier DARRIGOL The Origins of the Entropy Concept.- Roger BALIAN Entropy, a Protean Concept.- Christian MAES On the Origin and Use of Fluctuation Relationsfor the Entropy.- Felix RITORT Work Fluctuations, Transient Violations of the Second Law and Free-Energy Recovery Methods: Perspectives in Theory and Experiments.- Thibault DAMOUR The Entropy of Black Holes: A Primer.
I: Bose-Einstein Condensation.- Claude COHEN-TANNOUDJI Bose-Einstein Condensation: An Introduction.- Sebastien BALIBAR Looking Back at Superfluid Helium 17.- Gora V. SHLYAPNIKOV Condensed Matter Approaches to Quantum Gases.- Jean DALIBARD and Christophe SALOMON Experiments with Cold Atoms.- Philippe NOZIERES Bose-Einstein Condensation and Quantum Coherence:From Superfluidity to Localization,from Fermi Liquids to Superconductors.- II: Entropy.- Olivier DARRIGOL The Origins of the Entropy Concept.- Roger BALIAN Entropy, a Protean Concept.- Christian MAES On the Origin and Use of Fluctuation Relationsfor the Entropy.- Felix RITORT Work Fluctuations, Transient Violations of the Second Law and Free-Energy Recovery Methods: Perspectives in Theory and Experiments.- Thibault DAMOUR The Entropy of Black Holes: A Primer.
Abstract The book covers three main strands, Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC), superfluid and superconductivity. The subjects are developed in a way which gradually builds up the key concepts and the necessary mathematical machinery. The book begins with the simplest of the three topics, BEC, and first thoroughly reviews the basics of the Bose-Einstein ideal gas before going into the techniques of magnetic trapping and cooling of atoms and the discovery of BEC in dilute atomic gases. Superfluidity in helium-4 is more difficult to understand, because it is a strongly interacting quantum liquid. The book introduces the main physical phenomena of superfluidity, and how it follows from the key concept of macroscopic quantum coherence and off-diagonal long ranged order. The theory of superconductivity is developed in stages, starting with the simpler London and Ginzburg Landau theories and their main applications, before developing the mathematical concepts of a quantum coherent state and the Bardeen Cooper Schrieffer (BCS) theory. The final chapter deals with the more advanced topics, including superfluid helium-3 and evidence for unconventional Cooper pairing in exotic superconductors. No prior knowledge of quantum many-body theory is assumed, and the necessary mathematical concepts are introduced in a self-contained manner where needed.
Bose–Einstein condensation was predicted in 1925 [Ein24, Ein25] but, except for its indirect manifestation in the superfluidity of He 4 [Lon38, Kap38, AllMis38], it remained a purely theoretical construct until 1995, when condensation in alkali gases was achieved in the laboratory [CorWie02, Ket02]. Since then, a great deal of the theoretical work in the previous 70 years has been put to the experimental test, while new avenues have been opening up, such as the superfluid-insulator or Mott transition [FWGF89, GMEHB02, CaHuRe06], the BEC-BCS cross-over [Leg06, Reg04] and the Tonks gas regime [Gir60, Par04]. Because of the great experimental control over the relevant parameters and the deep understanding of the fundamental physics, BECs have become a field of choice to perform experiments of interest not just in atomic and molecular physics, but also in quantum optics, condensed matter physics, quantum critical dynamics, even field theory, gravitation, cosmology and black hole physics [CoEnWi99, PetSmi02, Sou02, BonSen04, ParZha93, ParZha95, UnrSch07, BaLiVi05]. Moreover, cold Bose gases on optical lattices have been proposed as a possible implementation of a quantum information processing (QIP) device [JakZo104], boosting new interest in these systems. As introductions and reviews on this fast evolving subject abound, it is perhaps more fitting for us to focus on certain aspects of the nonequilibrium field theory of BEC, specifically [And04] the application of quantum field theoretic methods described in this book to the description of nonequilibrium evolution of condensed gases in magneto-optical traps [ChCoPh95].
Abstract This volume introduces the basic concepts of Bose–Einstein condensation and superfluidity. It makes special reference to the physics of ultracold atomic gases; an area in which enormous experimental and theoretical progress has been achieved in the last twenty years. Various theoretical approaches to describing the physics of interacting bosons and of interacting Fermi gases, giving rise to bosonic pairs and hence to condensation, are discussed in detail, both in uniform and harmonically trapped configurations. Special focus is given to the comparison between theory and experiment, concerning various equilibrium, dynamic, thermodynamic, and superfluid properties of these novel systems. The volume also includes discussions of ultracold gases in dimensions, quantum mixtures, and long-range dipolar interactions.
As was shown by Einstein in 1924, Bose-Einstein statistics gives rise to a phase transition in which a macroscopic part of a gaseous state condenses into a phase with ground state properties, offering a unique view on the behavior of matter at zero temperature. From the very start the nature of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has provoked statements concerning its relation with respect to superconductivity in electron gases (Einstein 1925) and the superfluidity of liquid helium (London 1938), but this connection is not easily grasped experimentally. Remarkably, although the concept of BEC appears routinely in very different contexts, ranging from excitons in semiconductors to nuclear matter, it had never been observed in its pure form, i.e., in a gaseous phase, until in 1995 BEC in ultracold Rb vapor was reported by Cornell and Wieman. Bose-Einstein condensation is probably the most exciting phenomenon currently under experimental investigation in ultracold atomic gases. In the tutorial the physics will be addressed which is at the roots of the current interest of BEC in atomic gases.
This is the first book devoted to Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) as an interdisciplinary subject, covering atomic and molecular physics, laser physics, low temperature physics and astrophysics. It contains 18 authoritative review articles on experimental and theoretical research in BEC and associated phenomena. Bose–Einstein condensation is a phase transition in which a macroscopic number of particles all go into the same quantum state. It has been known for some time that this phenomenon gives rise to superfluidity in liquid helium but recent research has focused on the search for BEC in other condensed matter systems, such as excitons, spin-polarised hydrogen, laser-cooled atoms, high-temperature superconductors and subatomic matter. This unique book gives an in-depth report on progress in this field and suggests promising research topics for the future. It will be of interest to graduate students and research workers in condensed matter, low temperature, atomic and laser physics.