Seminar
The use of ultra-cold atoms and molecules in uncovering new aspects of physics
Speaker: Rahul Sawant (M Squared Lasers Ltd., London, UK)
In this presentation, I will highlight research utilizing ultra-cold atoms and molecules to delve into new realms of physics. First, I will discuss the results from one of our experiments that studied the dissipative creation of super-critical Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). Such a BEC is not in phase equilibrium with its thermal environment. The aim was to push the boundaries of the experiment into a region where the current theoretical predictions failed to match the experimental data. Next, I will delve into the exciting field of ultra-cold molecules, which offer unique opportunities to explore the intersection of physics and physical chemistry. I will present our findings on the loss of non-reactive ultra-cold RbC molecules and examine the hypothesis of sticky collisions forming long-lived complexes. Ultra-cold molecules also hold potential for quantum simulations, but decoherence poses a significant challenge. I will discuss how the trapping laser for ultra-cold molecules adds decoherence to the system and report our experimental results of reducing it using electric and magnetic fields. In the end, I will briefly talk about my research proposal, where we will strive to study various aspects of complex quantum systems with a focus on self-organized systems. We plan to use ultra-cold atoms to form complex quantum systems.
He then moved to Durham University, the United Kingdom, to work with Prof. Simon Cornish. At Durham, he worked with ultra-cold RbC molecules. The experiment's goal was to understand the internal structure of the molecules and develop techniques to control this internal structure coherently. The motivation behind this study was to develop experimental techniques that will make it possible to perform quantum simulations with ultra-cold molecules.
For his second postdoc, he moved to the University of Birmingham to work with Prof. Giovanni Barontini. At Birmingham, he was working on an experiment that could produce an ultra-cold mixture of K and Rb atoms. The experiment aims to study quantum thermodynamics and demonstrate the working of a single-atom quantum heat engine.
Currently, Dr Rahul Sawant is employed in the quantum technology industry as a Quantum Technology Scientist. He works at the innovation department of M Squared Lasers ltd. He is working on a project to develop practical navigation sensors using atomic interferometry enabled by cold-atom technologies. This project is in collaboration with the Centre for Cold Matter, Imperial College of London, UK.