Ultracold Bose-Fermi Mixtures of Metastable Helium

Objective

Experiments using Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of ultracold atoms have demonstrated the quantum mechanical similarities between ultracold bosonic atoms and photons of light. In addition, research using ultracold fermionic atoms has shed light on other interesting and/or unsolved phenomena, such as the pairing of electrons in superconductors and the mechanisms of high Tc superconductivity. Helium has both stable bosonic (4He) and fermionic (3He) isotopes that may be cooled to quantum degeneracy in a metastable electronic excited state (He*), thus making it ideally suited for the study of the overlap between the fields of ultracold atomic gases, quantum optics and condensed matter. He* offers a major advantage over other atomic species due to the large internal energy (~20 eV) stored in each atom. Whereas the detection of ultracold atoms typically relies on optical means that are limited in resolution and efficiency, He* atoms dropped onto a microchannel plate are precisely located in time and space due to the de-excitation of their internal energy. In groundbreaking experiments, the bunching of bosonic atoms, a phenomenon predicted for photons, has been observed using bosonic 4He*. Remarkably, the corresponding anti-bunching of fermionic 3He* atoms, with no direct optical analogy, was also observed. Incorporating the capacity to trap and cool fermionic 3He* into an existing 4He* BEC apparatus will open the door to many new opportunities. For example, bosons within a Bose-Fermi mixture may mediate interactions between fermions and play the role of the phonons in a BCS superconductor. Moreover, Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices promise a unique opportunity for the study of condensed matter systems, and the detection capability afforded by the He* system should allow for the observation of correlations and possibly quantum entanglement.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy natural gas
• natural sciences physical sciences condensed matter physics bose-einstein condensates
• natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics superconductivity
• natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics photons

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

• BEC
• Bose Einstein Condensate
• Degenerate Fermi
• Degenerate Fermi gas
• correlations
• disorder
• lattice
• metastable

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• PEOPLE-2007-4-2.IIF - Marie Curie Action: "International Incoming Fellowships"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Coordinator