Newswise — ROLLA, Mo. – By laser-cooling atom clusters and studying their movements, a Missouri University of Science and Technology researcher hopes to better understand how atoms and their components are impacted and directed by environmental factors.
With a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Daniel Fischer, assistant professor of physics at Missouri S&T, tests the limits of quantum mechanics through his project titled “Control and Analysis of Atomic Few-Body Dynamics.”
In a hand-built vacuum chamber, Fischer manipulates lithium atoms by trapping them in a magnetic field and then shooting them with different lasers. This gives Fischer a large variety of initial states to test. Tests range from single, polarized atoms to larger groups that are laser-cooled to a consistent energy level. By doing so, Fischer works to help unravel the “few-body problem” that continues to confound the world of physics.
“It can be extremely challenging to predict the motion of three or more particles due to their mutual forces,” explains Fischer. “This complex interplay of several particles requires a combination of theoretical and experimental research, because such systems cannot be fully described by mathematical expressions alone.”
Fischer uses a reaction microscope to measure the atoms’ momentum, speed and the distance they travel. He also times the ionization of the atoms – the process by which atoms become positively or negatively charged when they collide. He hopes one day to bridge the gap between few-body and large group problems.
“These few-body problems have both fundamental and technological relevance for the future,” says Fischer. “For example, if you destroy a cancerous cell in a body, the destruction will impact the nearby cells, liquids and general space. By understanding where the atoms of these cells move, we could better control localized treatments.”
Other industries that would be impacted by few-body prediction are materials science, quantum chemistry, biological science and information processing, says Fischer.
Fischer earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in physics from Freiburg University in Germany. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from Heidelberg University in Germany, in 2003. Prior to joining Missouri S&T, Fischer served as a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany and Stockholm University in Sweden.
RSS