CPT

Calendar of Physics Talks Vienna

Berufungsvortrag *) - Coherent control of ultracold systems
Speaker:Dr. Christiane Koch (Freie Universität Berlin)
Abstract:Ultracold matter brought quantum effects onto the macroscopic scale, and ultrafast lasers made quantum dynamical phenomena observable in real-time. Bringing the two together seems natural and holds the promise of employing quantum interferences in an unprecedented way. Photoassociation of a molecule from two ultracold atoms provides an optimal framework for the merger. Combining it with coherent control where the potential energy surfaces governing the dynamics can be 'shaped', a general route toward stable ultracold molecules is obtained. The same set of techniques that are employed to create ultracold molecules via short-pulse photoassociation allow to probe two-body correlations in ultracold gases. Finally, control of a quantum systems might need to be restricted to a subspace of the total Hilbert space. This is of particular relevance for applications in quantum information processing.
*) Professur für Theoretische Physik (Nichtlineare Dynamik und komplexe Systeme)
Date: Mon, 16.11.2009
Time: 14:00
Duration: 60 min
Location:TU Wien, Seminarraum 136, 10. Stock, gelber Bereich
Contact:J. Burgdörfer

Vienna Theory Lunch Club - Type II String Vacua and Phenomenology
Speaker:Ching-Ming Chen (TU Vienna)
Abstract:The goal of string phenomenology is to find a convincing connection between realistic particle physics and string theory. Type II compactifications involving D-branes have been studied recently. Gauge groups are from D-brane stacks and chiral fermions arise from strings stretching between D-branes intersecting at angles (Type IIA) and in its T-dual (Type IIB) picture with magnetized D-branes. Fluxes introduced in model building can stabilize the undetermined dilaton, complex, and Kaehler moduli in different vacua. So far several semi-realistic Pati-Salam and GUT models have been constructed in Minkowski and AdS vacua. A particular D-brane model is chosen to explore its phenomenology. It is also possible to generically study the soft supersymmetry breaking terms, from which can be calculated the supersymmetric partner spectra from supergravity parameters. Fermion masses and mixings can be controlled by the three- and four-point functions using Yukawa couplings which arise from the string worldsheet instantons.
Overview Lunch Seminar
Date: Tue, 17.11.2009
Time: 12:30
Duration: 60 min
Location:TU Vienna, Inst. f. Theoretical Physics, Freihaus, Wiedner Hauptstr. 8-10, 10. OG, SEM136
Contact:Maximilian Attems, David Burke, Marcus Huber, Theo Adaktylos

Kaon Decays in Chiral Perturbation Theory
Speaker:Gerhard Ecker (Univ. Wien) (Fakultät für Physik)
Abstract:im Rahmen des Teilchenphysikseminars
Date: Tue, 17.11.2009
Time: 16:15
Duration: 60 min
Location:Erwin Schrödinger-Hörsaal, Boltzmanngasse 5, 5. Stock
Contact:H. Neufeld

Chemisch-Physikalische Gesellschaft - Nanomaterials in the new light: Scattering experiments with synchrotron radiation and neutrons.
Speaker:Oskar Paris (Institut für Physik, Montanuniversität Leoben )
Abstract:Vortrag im Rahmen der Chemisch-Physikalischen Gesellschaft.
Date: Tue, 17.11.2009
Time: 17:00
Location:Lise-Meitner-Hörsaal, Fakultät für Physik, Universität Wien, 1090 Wien, Strudlhofgasse 4/Boltzmanngasse 5, 1. Stock.
Contact:Christl Langstadlinger

Berufungsvortrag *) - Nonlinear waves in periodic and disordered structures
Speaker:Sergej Flach (Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, Dresden)
Abstract: Wave propagation and localization in structured systems is strongly influenced by the presence of nonlinearities, i.e. wave-wave interactions. In the absence of spatial disorder, linear wave equations yield ballistic spreading of localized excitations. Strong enough wave-wave interaction leads to an off-resonance stabilization of the initial excitation and the formation of localized states-discrete breathers. These states have been observed e.g. in Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices, Josephson junction and optical waveguide networks, antiferromagnets and atomic vibrations in crystals.Adding spatial disorder induces Anderson localization for noninteracting waves, as recently observed for Bose-Einstein condensates and optical waveguide networks.The combined influence of disorder and wave-wave interactions has been questioned since half a century.I will present fresh results which show that weak wave-wave interaction induces weak chaos, destroys Anderson localization, and leads to universal spreading features of wave packets
*) Professur für Theoretische Physik (Nichtlineare Dynamik und komplexe Systeme)
Date: Wed, 18.11.2009
Time: 14:00
Duration: 60 min
Location:TU Wien, Seminarraum 134, 5. Stock, gelber Bereich
Contact:J. Burgdörfer

Berufungsvortrag *) - Quantum transport in complex finite systems
Speaker:Sandro Wimberger (Universität Heidelberg)
Abstract: Modern quantum optical and atomic physics experiments allow for an unprecedented control of microscopic degrees of freedom, not just in the initialization but, more importantly, in the dynamical evolution of quantum states. Our goal is to efficiently describe quantum transport phenomena in experimentally accessible complex systems. Complexity may arise from external driving forces like for driven single-electron Rydberg states or for kicked cold atoms, or/and from particle-particle interactions as present in ultracold quantum gases. The theoretical modelling and understanding of ionisation and transport processes is the necessary prerequisite for coherently controlling such complex quantum systems.
*) Professur für Theoretische Physik (Nichtlineare Dynamik und komplexe Systeme)
Date: Thu, 19.11.2009
Time: 16:00
Duration: 60 min
Location:TU Wien, Seminarraum 134, 5. Stock, gelber Bereich
Contact:J. Burgdörfer

Berufungsvortrag *) - Lasing in complex photonic media
Speaker:Hakan Türeci (ETH Zürich)
Abstract: In my talk, I will describe an 'ab initio' self-consistent (AISC) approach to access the steady state properties (frequencies, thresholds, internal and external fields) of an arbitrarily complex laser structure from a few simple inputs of the resonator and the gain medium. This approach overcomes two of the essential obstacles faced by time-independent approaches: the correct description of an arbitrary degree of leakiness of the light-confining structure and the spatial hole-burning interactions in the multi-mode regime. It does so by introducing an appropriate set of modes, namely the set of "Constant Flux Modes", to correctly describe the steady state response of the linear scattering system and a self-consistent set of equations to treat the lasing non-linearity in the multi-mode regime to infinite order. The lasing properties of diffusive random lasers, a case that presented a formidable challenge to conventional laser theory was recently addressed using the AISC theory successfully (Science 320, 643, 2008). I will present a brief sketch of the basic framework of AISC and a few representative applications to design of power-efficient and functional micro and nano-lasers.
*) Professur für Theoretische Physik (Nichtlineare Dynamik und komplexe Systeme)
Date: Fri, 20.11.2009
Time: 09:00
Duration: 60 min
Location:TU Wien, Seminarraum 134, 5. Stock, gelber Bereich
Contact:J. Burgdörfer

Nanomechanical measurements of a superconducting qubit
Speaker:Matt LaHaye (Syracuse University, New York)
Abstract:There is a rapidly growing effort to integrate quantum technologies with mechanical systems in order to reach the quantum limits of force and position detection and also to study fundamental issues in quantum mechanics such as the quantum-to-classical transition. One promising approach that has received extensive theoretical attention in recent years is to incorporate superconducting qubits as control and detection elements in nano- electromechanical systems (NEMS). Proposals in the literature posit the qubits as veritable toolboxes for preparing, manipulating and measuring quantum states of a nanomechanical resonator, including Fock states and superposition states. In an initial step toward implementing these advanced strategies, we have performed the first measurements of a nanomechanical resonator coupled to a superconducting qubit, the Cooper-pair box (CPB). We find that the coupling produces a CPB-state-dependent shift in the frequency of the nanoresonator that is similar to the single-atom phase shifts experienced by electromagnetic resonators in the dispersive limit of cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED). In my talk, I will report on our latest measurements of the dispersive interaction between a CPB and nanoresonator, including how we use the nanomechanical frequency shift to perform spectroscopy and read-out quantum interference effects in the CPB. I will also discuss the realistic prospects of soon using qubit-coupled NEMS for exploring the quantum limit of nanomechanics.
Date: Fri, 20.11.2009
Time: 15:15
Duration: 45 min
Location:Seminarraum des Atominstituts, Stadionallee 2
Contact:Johannes Majer