Atomic systems, as physical systems, consist of one or more atoms whose dynamics are governed by quantum mechanics, electromagnetic interactions, and, at high energies, relativistic effects. They include isolated atoms, ions, and small aggregates where electronic structure, discrete energy levels, and spin-orbit coupling dominate behavior. Atomic systems serve as model platforms for studying fundamental processes such as spectroscopy, scattering, coherence, and entanglement, and underpin precision measurements including atomic clocks and quantum sensors. Their states are described by many-body wavefunctions or density matrices, with interactions treated via effective Hamiltonians incorporating Coulomb potentials, external fields, and, in dense environments, interatomic forces and decoherence mechanisms.
A crystal is an arrangement of atoms that repeats itself in space, in regular intervals: At every point, the crystal looks exactly the same. In 2012, Nobel Prize winner Frank Wilczek raised the question: Could there also ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 9, 2024
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Similar to how a radio antenna plucks a broadcast from the air and concentrates the energy into a song, individual atoms can collect and concentrate the energy of light into a strong, localized signal that researchers can ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 10, 2024
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The hydrogen atom was once considered the simplest atom in nature, composed of a structureless electron and a structured proton. However, as research progressed, scientists discovered a simpler type of atom, consisting of ...
Quantum Physics
May 10, 2024
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Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states ...
Condensed Matter
May 2, 2024
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Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom "recoils" in the opposite direction, making it ...
Quantum Physics
May 2, 2024
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Quantum physics requires high-precision sensing techniques to delve deeper into the microscopic properties of materials. From the analog quantum processors that have emerged recently, quantum-gas microscopes have proven to ...
Quantum Physics
Apr 22, 2024
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Universal behavior is a central property of phase transitions, which can be seen, for example, in magnets that are no longer magnetic above a certain temperature. A team of researchers from Kaiserslautern, Berlin and Hainan, ...
Quantum Physics
Mar 5, 2024
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Making quantum systems more scalable is one of the key requirements for the further development of quantum computers because the advantages they offer become increasingly evident as the systems are scaled up. Researchers ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 15, 2024
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Atomic clocks are a class of clocks that leverage resonance frequencies of atoms to keep time with high precision. While these clocks have become increasingly advanced and accurate over the years, existing versions might ...
In a new study published in Science today, JILA and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Fellow Jun Ye and his research team have taken a significant step in understanding the intricate and collective light-atom ...
General Physics
Jan 27, 2024
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