"Basic ideas and experimental production of atomic quantum gases"

Abstract: 

I will begin by presenting the fundamentals of the concept of quantum degeneracy in a dilute atomic gas. Specifically, I will detail the case of atomic bosons at very low temperatures, which give rise to the Bose-Einstein condensation phenomenon; as well as ultracold atomic fermions, in which different quantum states can be reached, such as a Fermi degenerate gas, but also atomic superfluids composed of atomic pairs.

Next, I will address the core of the lesson, which is to explain how these systems are produced in the laboratory. I will emphasize some of the most important and widely used experimental techniques for reaching ultra-low temperatures, very close to absolute zero, at which quantum degeneracy occurs. This includes laser cooling, magnetic trapping, optical trapping, evaporative cooling, as well as the imaging techniques used to observe the gas and extract all the relevant physical quantities.

Finally, I will present some important ideas on how ultracold gases can be used to implement quantum simulators of many-body systems, one of the most intense areas of research in this field.

Bio:

• 2002–2006: Bachelor's degree in Physics, School of Sciences, UNAM, Mexico.
• 2006–2011: PhD in Physics, São Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
• 2011–2014: Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Optics of the National Research Council (INO-CNR), based at the University of Florence, Italy.
• 2014–present: Assistant professor at the Department of Quantum Physics and Photonics, Institute of Physics, UNAM.

Research Areas:

• Trapping and cooling techniques for neutral atoms
• Bose-Einstein condensation
• Strongly correlated ultracold Fermi gases
• Superfluidity
• Collective excitations in superfluids, vorticity, and quantum turbulence

Additional Information:

I am responsible for the Ultracold Matter Laboratory (LMU), the first laboratory on quantum gases in Mexico. This laboratory is part of the National Quantum Matter Laboratory (LANMAC), headquartered at the Institute of Physics of the UNAM (UNAM), and is made up of a network of laboratories and research groups from different Mexican institutions.

At the LMU, we have built an experimental system to produce and study quantum gases composed of lithium atoms. Specifically, we use 6Li atoms, which are fermions, allowing the formation of different bound states, from strongly bound bosonic molecules to weakly coupled Cooper pairs. This gives rise to superfluid regimes of very different natures that are connected through the BEC-BCS crossover.

Our lines of research consist of the study of different types of collective excitations in atomic superfluids, as well as other out-of-equilibrium phenomena. We are currently investigating a particular type of phononic excitation known as "Faraday waves," which consist of a spatially and temporally periodic pattern generated in the fluid density by parametrically perturbing it. In the medium term, we plan to investigate the phenomenon of quantum turbulence in atomic superfluids. This is characterized by the disordered formation of numerous quantized vortices in the system, giving rise to very interesting energy dissipation dynamics. The phenomenon of quantum turbulence has been poorly studied in fermionic superfluids with tunable interactions, so we believe our research could bring new insights into the fundamental problem of turbulence.