The University of Connecticut 2152 Hillside Road Storrs, CT 06269-3046 DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS NEWS Volume I Issue 10 July, 2006 Wolfgang Ketterle, Katzenstein Distinguished Lecturer Friday, September 15, 2006 Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle, the John D. which exploits the coherence properties of the Bose- MacArthur Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Einstein condensate. Coherent beams of atoms Institute of Technology, will be our guest to deliver extracted from the condensate are analogous to the 2006 Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture on optical laser beams. Professor Ketterle’s research September 15, 2006. His talk is “New Forms of group has used Bose-Einstein condensates as amplifi- Matter Close to Absolute Zero Temperature.” Profes- ers for light and for atoms. This allows extremely sor Ketterle shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics, precise measurements due to unprecedented control “for the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation of the position and velocity of atoms provided by in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early funda- coherence of condensates. mental studies of the properties of the condensates.” In his lecture, Professor Ketterle will describe new The prize was shared with Eric Cornell, a former forms of matter that appear at ultracold temperatures, Katzenstein Lecturer, and Carl Wieman, both from well below one millionth of one degree Kelvin, the University of Colorado. where the wave nature of matter becomes explicit Professor Ketterle’s research is in atomic physics and visible. Starting with the Bose-Einstein conden- and laser spectroscopy. He uses laser cooling and sate, now using similar techniques, his group creates trapping of neutral atoms to explore new aspects of other novel forms of “designer matter.” The conden- ultracold atomic matter, including but not limited to sate is closely related to both superfluidity in liquid gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates. He was among helium and superconductivity in metals. However, the first researchers to observe a Bose-Einstein the experimentalist studying ultracold, dilute gases condensate in an ultracold dilute gas in 1995 and was has fine control over system parameters that is the first to demonstrate the atom laser in 1997. unavailable to those studying liquid helium or a solid Today, his research group uses large samples of superconductor. Thus Professor Ketterle hopes to use ultracold atoms at nanoKelvin temperatures for dilute gases to gain further insight into these other research on topics such as sound, superfluidity, and physical systems, perhaps helping solve long- properties of miscible and immiscible multicompo- standing problems such as high-temperature super- nent condensates. These topics are interdisciplinary conductivity. with condensed matter physics. Wolfgang Ketterle received a diploma (equivalent The field of atom optics has been invigorated by to a master’s degree) from the Technical University Professor Ketterle’s development of the atom laser, of Munich (1982), and a Ph.D. in Physics from the 1 University of Munich (1986). After postdoctoral work at the Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics 2006 Cross Border Workshop Held at the in Garching, Germany, the University of Heidelberg UConn Physics Department and MIT, he joined the physics faculty at MIT (1993), where he is now the John D. MacArthur From June 1-3, 2006, the Physics Depart- Professor of Physics. His awards include a David and ment hosted the 8th Annual Cross Border Lucile Packard Fellowship (1996), the Rabi Prize of Workshop on Laser Science. This workshop the American Physical Society (1997), the Gustav- brings together researchers from Northeast Hertz Prize of the German Physical Society (1997), United States and Eastern Canada and was the Discover Magazine Award for Technological organized this year by Prof. George N. Innovation (1998), the Fritz London Prize in Low Gibson. The location moves among the Temperature Physics (1999), the Dannie Heineman participating universities and has been at Prize of the Academy of Sciences, Goettingen, University of Rochester, University of Michi- Germany (1999), the Benjamin Franklin Medal in gan, University of Toronto, and the National Physics (2000), and the shared Nobel Prize in Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. Physics (2001). Professor Ketterle is an eminent Topics vary from year to year depending on physicist, an excellent speaker, and a friend to the what’s new and what are the research special- department; we are thrilled he is coming to visit. ties at the host institution. This year, the focus was on ultrafast biophotonics, quantum imag- International Association for Relativistic ing with ultrashort laser pulses, quantum Dynamics 2006 Conference information, and cold atom phenomena. Some The International Association for Relativistic 40 people attended, including graduate stu- Dynamics (IARD) held its 5th biennial meeting here dents, postdocs and professors from 10 differ- at Storrs on June 12-14, 2006. Researchers attended ent universities. A special guest was brought from around the world and in a variety of fields in from Arizona State University, Neal involving relativistic dynamics, general relativity, Woodbury, who is the director of the Center for high energy scattering, quantum field theory, and Bio-Optical Nanotechnology. Dr. Woodbury conformal field theories. University of Connecticut talked about the primary events in photosyn- physics department members who spoke were Philip thesis, which have been elucidated with Mannheim, James O’Brien, Michael Lublinsky, ultrafast laser spectroscopy. Other notable and Munir Islam’s collaborator, Alexei Prokudin, also speakers were Joe Eberly, University of Roch- spoke. ester and Misha Lukin, Harvard University, in At a banquet honoring Kurt Haller, Kurt’s wife, addition to several UConn faculty. Lottie, attended as our guest of honor. Words of appreciation of Kurt’s work and life were given by Ron Mallett and Phil Mannheim (the conference local organizers) and by Munir Islam and Larry Horwitz. The conference was generously supported by the University of Con- necticut Research Founda- tion, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department of Physics and the University of Con- necticut Conference Services. NewNew CASECASE MembersMembers The Department would like to congratulate our newly-elected members of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. The new members were honored at the 31st Annual Meeting and Dinner held on May 24, 2006. Pictured are Andrey Dobrynin, Gerald Dunne and Win Smith. Also elected were Phillip Gould and Juha Javanainen. 2 First Edward Pollack Distinguished Lecture: Prof. C. Lewis Cocke A distinguished lecture series recognizing that close encounters New York (CCNY), a school long in the field of atomic, molecular in ion-atom collisions occur on a known for producing first-rate and optical physics has been sub-picosecond (<10-12 s) or even physics graduates. After complet- established in memory of long- femtosecond (1 fsec =10-15 s) time ing his M.S., he served in the U.S. time UConn physics professor Ed scale, are now using ultrafast (~ Army in 1954, undertaking Pollack. The first lecture was 10-100 fsec) laser pulses to study research at Fort Detrick in Mary- presented on Monday, April 17, the double ionization and breakup land. Subsequently, he taught 2006 by C. Lewis Cocke of of hydrogen and other small physics at New York University Kansas State University on the molecules. Photofragments (ions, and CCNY, earning a doctorate topic: “Seeking Ways to Measure atoms and electrons) are detected from NYU in 1963. Ed immedi- Atomic Dynamics in Real Time.” in a variation on the COLTRIMS ately received an appointment to Prof. Cocke was the 2006 recipi- technique and lab-frame data are teach physics at UConn during the ent of the prestigious Davisson- transformed into a body-fixed administration of President Homer Germer Prize of the American molecular frame to reveal the Babbidge, and made the university Physical Society. The citation dynamics of the molecular his professional home for over read: “For a sustained record of breakup. A pair of laser pulses four decades. novel experimental developments with known delay (pump-probe) Recently Ed secured NASA and new insights into interactions provides an external clock on the funding for research in charge- of ion and photon beams with ultrafast time scale of the atomic transfer atomic collisions in a atoms and molecules.” dynamics. During his visit, Cocke research partnership with the Jet Prof. Cocke described his consulted with a number of our Propulsion Laboratory at the attempts to make “experimental faculty and visited our laborato- California Institute of Technology movies” of the motion of atoms in ries. and a research team at Connecticut an ion-atom collision as well as in This memorial lecture will be College. Profs. Quentin Kessel atomic and electron rearrange- an annual event. Prof. Pollack, a and Win Smith are carrying on this ments in a molecule during an mainstay of our department since project with postdocs and stu- ultrafast laser pulse. Cocke the 1960s, died of cancer on dents. exploited a technique known as February 11, 2005. Ed taught a The Edward Pollack Endow- COLTRIMS to measure in coinci- wide variety of physics courses at ment for Physics, initiated by Ed’s dence the momentum vectors of UConn and made impressive family, provides funding for the product ions and atoms following contributions to scholarship in lecture series. We were very an energetic collision. In an ion- experimental atomic and happy that Ed’s wife, atom collision, diffracted elec- molecular physics. He Rita, joined us for this trons ejected from the inner was an outstanding momentous event – by atomic shells in-effect take a teacher and took great all accounts a tremen- picture of the quasimolecule pride in the accomplish- dous success – and are formed during the collision, ments of his advisees. looking forward to exploiting correlation of momen- Born in 1931, in New future distinguished tum vectors of the diffracted York City, Ed received lectures. We feel very electrons and the final fragmenta- his B.S.