Hannover 2003 – scientific programme

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Q: Quantenoptik

Q 30: Poster: Quanteneffekte

Q 30.4: Poster

Tuesday, March 25, 2003, 16:30–18:30, Lichthof

Full quantum-mechanical description of a neutral particle in a trap — •Harry Schmidt and Günter Mahler — Institut für Theoretische Physik 1, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70550 Stuttgart

We try to develop a closed quantum-mechanical model, i.e. without external sources and damping, to describe atom-chips or micro-traps for neutral atoms. We reduce the pertinent scenario to its essential parts needed to trap atoms.

As a preliminary and very simple model a current on a loop to trap a single magnetic dipole moment is considered. Instead of superimposing fluctuations on classical currents and fields to account for heating and decoherence, the dynamics of the current and the trapped particle as well as their interaction are treated fully quantum-mechanically. In this way, the feedback on the current is taken into account, which may lead to entanglement between the subsystems and to decoherence of the trapped article’s state. We hope to describe heating of the particle and the transition to the maximum-entropy state.