Photons, atoms and molecules [ LPHY2140 ]

- Laser-atom interaction Phemenological models Perturbative approach 2-state model : Rabi oscillations, adiabatic rapid passage, Bloch vector, Ramsey fringes, saturated absorption 3-state Model : optical pumping, AC-stark shift, 2-photon spectroscopy, STIRAP, induced electromagnetic transparency, slow light - Cold atoms, atom traps and Bose-Einstein condensates Slowing down atoms with light : Doppler and sub-Doppler cooling, cooling beyond the recoil limit, the Zeeman slower Trapping atoms in electromagnetic fields : magneto-optical trap or MOT, magnetostatic trap and evaporative cooling, reactive force and dipole trap Bose-Einstein condensation : statistical mechanics of boson condensation, wave function and properties of the condensate, fermion condensates and atom lasers Applications of cold atoms to metrology : atomic clocks, atomic fountains, cold ions in a Paul trap, Lamb-Dicke regime and quantum jumps, atomic qubits - Introduction to the principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Magnetic Bloch equations , spin echoes, Fourier Transform NMR Principles and basic pulse sequences in MRI - Entanglement and quantum non-locality Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox (EPR) Bell's inequalities , Bell states , quantum teleportation Experimental tests , Aspect experiments,...

The purpose of this course is to present the theoretical basis of some recent topics in atomic and molecular physics, with particular emphasis on the laser-atom interactions. The course is illustrated with the description of outstanding experiments. The main objective is the understanding of the physical concepts.