Defense – Monday 18th May at 1:00pm in P-250 there will be a Masters Thesis Defense presented by Charles (Chuck) Tally who will talk about “On the Interaction Between Ince-Gaussian laser beams and Bose-Einstein condensates.”
Abstract:
Since the realization of Bose-Einstein condensates in 1995, much research has been performed to expand the field of atom-optics to include interactions between light and these coherent, macroscopic matter-waves. More recently, the rotation of dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates by lasers carrying external angular momentum has been achieved. The topological structure and stability of superfluidic vortices (wavefunction holes) that form in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates has been of particular interest. Ince-Gaussian beams are a recently discovered class of laser fields which carry orbital angular momentum. Unlike similar predecessors (Hermite-Gauss and Laguerre-Gaussian beams), Ince-Gaussian beams have a more diverse and complex array of possible intensity profiles and corresponding vortex structures. Our computational model studies the dynamics of Bose-Einstein Condensate/Ince-Gaussian beam interactions in order to assess the stability and structure of Bose-Einstein condensates undergoing such changes. Our goal is to assess the feasibility of using Ince-Gaussian beams to encode complex topological and phase structures on to Bose-Einstein condensation for both fundamental and practical applications such as for use in the field of quantum information.
Committee Members:
Dr. Michael Bromley (Chair, Dept. of Physics),
Dr. Jeffrey Davis (Dept. of Physics), and
Dr. Ricardo Carretero-Gonzalez (Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics).