2 Apr 2024
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
CNRS- Department
Institut de physique de Nice- Research Field
Physics- Researcher Profile
First Stage Researcher (R1)- Country
France- Application Deadline
22 Apr 2024 - 23:59 (UTC)- Type of Contract
Temporary- Job Status
Full-time- Hours Per Week
35- Offer Starting Date
1 Oct 2024- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
Not funded by an EU programme- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
No
Offer Description
ERC Andlica 2019-2024
ANR France-Brésil 2024-2028
The scattering of light on an ensemble of atoms connects many domains of physics, from complex media in mesoscopic physics to quantum optics. The resonant photons sent on a large sample of atoms can undergo multiple scattering events, and their wave-like behavior has to be considered to properly describe the physics of the system, and give rise to interesting phenomena such as Anderson localization. On the other hand, the atoms form an assembly of driven qubits that can interact through the dipole-dipole interaction which can drastically modify their excitation spectrum, and collective sub-radiant and super-radiant states can emerge.
The localization of waves addressed by Anderson in 1958 [1] is the following: when a wave is scattering in a disordered system with typical distance between scatterers on the order of the wavelength, interference effects fully trap the wave excitation inside the system. This has been observed with acoustic waves [2] and matter waves [3], but never with light waves so far. In cold atoms, several experiments have been performed with rubidium atoms, but the microscopic details of the light-matter interaction, in particular the polarization of light and the short-range interactions between atoms, were detrimental.
The experimental setup that we work on can create large sample of cold 174Yb atoms (109 atoms at a temperature of a few microkelvin). These atoms have a J=0 ground state, which brings a huge advantage over Rb atoms, and recent theoretical findings suggest that the observation of Anderson localization of light could be within reach by applying random energy shifts to the atoms thanks to a far-detuned speckle light pattern [4].
The goal of the PhD thesis is to explore the scattering of photons in such atomic samples and to determine whether Anderson localization of light can be observed there, and how to probe it. It has a large experimental part, but numerical work can also be performed to better understand the physics that we investigate.
Requirements
- Research Field
- Physics
- Education Level
- Master Degree or equivalent
- Languages
- FRENCH
- Level
- Basic
- Research Field
- Physics
- Years of Research Experience
- None
Additional Information
Additional comments
References:
[1] P. W. Anderson, Absence of Diffusion in Certain Random Lattices, Phys. Rev. 109, 1492 (1958)
[2] Hu et al., Localization of ultrasound in a three-dimensional elastic network, Nature Phys. 4, 945 (2008)
[3] Chabé et al., Experimental Observation of the Anderson Metal-Insulator Transition with Atomic Matter Waves, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 255702 (2008)
[4] L. Celardo, M. Angeli, F. Mattiotti, R. Kaiser, Localization of light in three dimensions: a mobility edge in the imaginary axis in non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, EPL 145, 42001(2024)
- Website for additional job details
https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR7010-ROBKAI0-013/Default.aspx
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- Institut de physique de Nice
- Country
- France
- City
- NICE
- Geofield
Where to apply
- Website
https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Candidat/Offre/UMR7010-ROBKAI0-013/Candidater.aspx
Contact
- City
NICE
STATUS: EXPIRED