Education

Research training:

Research projects for undergraduates (UvA Bachelor Projects).

We welcome undergraduates and offer a guided introduction into the physics and instrumentation of Quantum Gases and Atom Optics. We have projects related to existing apparatus and projects in relation to apparatus under development. Depending on the interest of the students the focus can be more on data analysis and interpretation or on the development of new apparatus (See further project description).

Textbooks focused on the field of Quantum gases-Atom Optics:

Undergraduate Level

H.J. Metcalf and P.J. van der Straten, Laser Cooling and Trapping Springer-Verlag, New York 1999.
P. Meystre, Atom Optics, Springer-Verlag New York 2001.
J.F. Annett, Superconductivity, Superfluids and Condensates, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004.
C.J. Foot, Atomic Physics Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005.

Graduate Level

C.J. Pethick and H. Smith, Bose-Einstein Condensation in Dilute Gases, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002.
L. Pitaevskii and S. Stringari, Bose-Einstein Condensation, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2003.

Lecture courses:

Quantumgassen

J.T.M. Walraven, Elements of Quantum gases Lecture notes, University of Amsterdam 2008.

Leerdoel: Maak en begrijp je eigen neutronenster! Sinds kort is het mogelijk om materie onder zeer extreme omstandigheden (temperaturen tot 1 nanokelvin) te bestuderen in verbluffend eenvoudige meetcellen (Nobelprijs 1997). Hierdoor zijn pure quantummaterialen in de vorm van vele nieuwe quantumgassen onder handbereik gekomen van de experimentator (Nobelprijs 2001). Dit heeft geleid tot een explosief groeiend vakgebied met grote uitdagingen voor zowel de experimentele als de theoretische natuurkunde en met unieke mogelijkheden voor de toepassing. De cursus biedt de mogelijkheid om kennis te maken met de quantumgassen, te begrijpen waarom ze kunnen bestaan en waarom ze een bijzondere plaats innemen binnen de fysica van gecondenseerde materie.

Inhoud: I. Introductie quantumgassen. II. De atoomval, wandvrije opsluiting van atomen in vacuüm: afscherming van het thermische stralingsveld; atomaire wisselwerking en quantum botsingen van identieke deeltjes; radiële Schrödinger vergelijking en de strooilengte; beïnvloeden van de wisselwerking met Feshbach resonanties. III. Quantum gassen in de harmonische val: het niet ontaarde gas en de kinetiek van afdampkoeling; Bose-Einstein statistiek en Bose-Einstein condensatie; experimentele bepaling van dichtheid en temperatuur. IV. Van botsend gas naar quantum veld: Gross-Pitaevskii vergelijking; Thomas-Fermi benadering; hydrodynamica van Bose-Einstein condensaten - expansie en focusseren; de atomlaser en interferentie van materiegolven. V. Rotatie van quantumgassen: rotatievrije stroming; gequantiseerde wervels; interactie tussen wervels; Abrikosov vortex rooster (Nobelprijs 2003). VI. Quantumgassen in optische roosters: Bloch oscillaties in een rooster; superfluid - Mott isolator faseovergang; manipuleren van botsingen en quantum entanglement. (Zie verder studiegids)

Atomic Physics

J.T.M. Walraven, Atomic Physics Lecture notes, University of Amsterdam 2008.

Leerdoel: Het college geeft een overzicht van de eigenschappen van eenvoudige atomen, zoals van belang voor toepassing in de atoomspectroscopie en voor het begrip van vaste stoffen.

Inhoud: 1. Quantum motion in a central potential field Hamiltonian, Angular momentum operator, Radial momentum operator, Schrödinger equation. 2. Hydrogenic atoms Energy levels and degeneracy, eigenfunctions of the bound states, radial averages, transition matrix elements. 3. Alkali-like atoms Quantum defects, approximate wavefunctions, radial averages. 4. Fine structure Relativistic shifts, generalized momentum for orbital motion in magnetic fields, orbital Zeeman coupling, Larmor precession, spin Zeeman coupling, spin-orbit coupling, fine structure of energy levels/ Lamb shift, Zeeman effect in the presence of spin-orbit coupling, weak-field limit Landé factor gJ, Paschen-Back crossover to high-field behavior. 5. Hyperfine structure Nuclear Zeeman coupling, hyperfine coupling, Zeeman effect in the presence of hyperfine coupling, weak-field limit gF, crossover to high field behavior.(Zie verder studiegids)

Elementary Methods in Experimental Physics

This course gives a scientific introduction into the practical side of physics. It will help the student to separate sense from nonsense in the design of apparatus for physics experiments. The course covers the elements of Vacuum, Radiation fields, Cryogenics and (analogue) Signal Processing. The common denominator between these topics is emphasized.

The course evolved over the years from encounters with many practical problems as they presented themselves when setting up new experiments. Often, building apparatus turned out to be the art of knowing how much (or how little) we need to understand to take well justified decisions during the design stage. One has to strike the proper balance between `getting things done' and drowning in the seemingly bottomless knowledge reservoir at our disposal. The high-tech image of equipment invariably attract students. However, it may also distract them from the job that has to be done. Computers present a well-known example of this risk. Therefore, it is important to learn to look at apparatus through the eyes of a scientist in search for a specific scientific environment to do his or her experiment. This reduces the threshold mounted by jargon and image and helps to maintain a clear view of the physics to be investigated. Once this attitude is taken seemingly very different topics like cryostat design and signal-to-noise optimization turn out to have strong parallels.

Tutoring courses:

Quantum Mechanics of elastic scattering at low energy (information on request)
Thermodynamic properties of trapped quantum gases (information on request)