Final Report Summary - SOCATHES (Solid State/Cold Atom Hybrid Quantum Devices)
Research and development within the SOCATHES project has been done in two areas of physics: solid state physics and cold atom physics. The project goal was to bridge experimental techniques of these two areas and to form novel quantum devices interconnecting solid state quantum electronics and atoms. The main achievements of the project include the successful realization of superconductor/cold atom interfaces and the pioneering of the coherent manipulation of atomic quantum gases next to superconducting microstructures. The project initiated the development of novel superconducting quantum circuits operational under ultrahigh vacuum conditions and in magnetic fields as required for trapping of cold atoms as well as the development of novel spectroscopic techniques for the characterization and control of interactions between atoms and solids. The close collaboration of the solid state and cold atom research groups led to the establishment of new experimental technologies for hybrid quantum systems and educated a number of young researchers in this overlapping area of solid state physics, quantum optics and atomic physics.