2014 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
| Project/Area Number |
14F04718
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
押川 正毅 東京大学, 物性研究所, 教授 (50262043)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
QUACH James 東京大学, 物性研究所, 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-25 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | Casimir effect / Bose-Einstein condensate / ultracold atoms |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In Dr Quach’s most recent work, he derived an equation which gives the gravitonic contribution to the Casimir pressure for real bodies, i.e. non-idealised boundaries. This is an important contribution, because it allows researchers in the field to calculate the gravitational Casimir effect for general systems with real properties, which was not easy to do before this work. This work is published in the journal Physical Review Letters. As testament to the innovation of this work, it has been highlighted in APS’s online journal in the article titled, “Synopsis: A Casimir Effect Caused by Gravity”.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, Dr Quach showed that ulltracold atoms in optical lattices can exhibit negative refraction. This allows the possibility of building flat lens structures with ultracold atoms. This work is published in the journal Physical Review A.
Dr Quach has also contributed to the field of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). A unique feature of multi-component BECs is the possibility of beating frequencies in collective oscillations. Dr Quach analytically determined this beating frequency for the two-component BEC in one-dimension. Dr Quach’s contribution provides analytical formulae and predictions for the behaviour of two-component BECs, which will allow experimentalists in the field of ultra-cold atoms to empirically compare against. This work is published in the Journal of Physics B.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The "gravitational Casimir effect" has potentially important consequences and the paper has attracted considerable attention.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Dr Quach plans to extend his work in the gravitational Casimir effect by working with experimentalists to investigate the Casimir effect with superconductors. In particular, he plans to investigate whether the superconducting regime will have any measurable effect on the Casimir pressure, as speculated by the Heisenberg-Coulomb conjecture of enhance gravitational interactions.
Dr Quach’s recent achievements in showing how ultracold atoms in optical lattices can exhibit negative refraction forms a good basis upon which to further his research in quantum metamaterials. Dr Quach plans to further extend his work in ultracold atoms to investigate its potential as a quantum metamaterial. In particular he will investigate ultracold atom optical lattices as a means to achieve reconfigurable transformation optics and quantum cloaking.
One of the main aims of research in analogue models of gravity is the possibility of simulating semiclassical gravity phenomena, such as the Hawking radiation effect or cosmological particle production. In this sense, systems characterized by a high degree of quantum coherence, very cold temperatures, and low speeds of sound offer the best test field. Hence it in recent years BECs have become the subject of extensive study as possible analogue models of general relativity. Dr Quach plans to extend his research in BECs, to study them as analogue models of general relativity. In particular he plans to investigate the BEC as a simulator of quantum gravitational effects such as Hawking radiation.
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Research Products
(7 results)
