Objective "Ultracold atomic gases offer flexible systems for fundamental studies of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium many-body problems that are relevant across many fields, from condensed matter physics to high-energy physics and astrophysics. In the long run, research on these systems could also lead to practical applications, in the development of novel materials, force sensing, navigation, and quantum information processing. Traditionally, an important difference between ""conventional"" many-body systems and ultracold gases has been that the former are usually spatially uniform, while the latter were produced in harmonic traps. This difference can often be addressed using the local density approximation (LDA), but for studies of some very important problems it is a serious hindrance. In particular, LDA breaks down close to phase transitions, where the correlation length diverges, and where (due to the “critical slowing down” of the system) some of the most interesting non-equilibrium effects also emerge. Here we propose a comprehensive study of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium many-body phenomena in a homogeneous 39K Bose gas with dynamically tuneable interactions. The use of a homogeneous quantum gas, produced in our newly developed box-like trapping potential (in contrast to the standard setting of a harmonic trap) is a particularly important and unique aspect of this proposal, which will allow for closer connections with both other many-body systems and the theoretical calculations. We will specifically focus on problems in beyond-mean-field physics and on those that cannot be effectively tackled using a harmonically trapped gas. The outstanding problems we will address range from the 50-year-old equilibrium problem of the critical temperature of an interacting homogeneous gas, to the modern topics of quenches and non-equilibrium (Kibble-Zurek and beyond) critical dynamics, to the largely unexplored problem of the unitary Bose gas." Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsnatural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physicsquantum gasesnatural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physicsbose-einstein condensatesnatural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsnatural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical model Keywords strong correlations beyond mean-field critical behavior non-equilibrium many-body dynamics thermal and quantum quenches unitary interactions Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-CoG-2015 - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2015-CoG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Net EU contribution € 1 943 753,00 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge United Kingdom See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 943 753,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 1 943 753,00 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 943 753,00