In a gas of ultracold lithium atoms, identical particles repel each other by the rules of quantum mechanics, while unlike atoms can attract each other and form molecules. Theoretical physicists around Tilman Enss have now determined the equation of state, i.e., how the attraction changes the density of the quantum gas, from an experiment in the group of Selim Jochim in Heidelberg.
In a laboratory experiment, physicists at the Center for Quantum Dynamics of Heidelberg University have succeeded in determining the equation of state for an atomic gas, which can be used to precisely describe the thermodynamic properties of this physical system. According to Associate Tilman Enss and Selim Jochim, the equation lays the foundation for further experiments using ultracold atoms to better understand the mechanisms of superconductivity, i.e., the lossless conduction of electricity. The results of their research were published in the journal "Physical Review Letters". "Everyone knows how air becomes thinner as you climb a mountain. In physics this effect is described by an equation of state, which in this instance determines how the density of air changes in relation to the distance from the Earth," explains Dr. Enss of the Institute for Theoretical Physics. "The same principle applies in many areas of physics - from the distribution of matter in the structure of stars to atomic gases, which we were recently able to manufacture in the laboratory," says Prof. Jochim, a researcher at the Institute for Physics. At the Center for Quantum Dynamics, the researchers have combined Dr. Enss' theoretical calculations with the findings from Prof. Jochim's experiments.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
