Cold atoms beyond atomic physics

TL;DR

This paper explores how the control and understanding of cold atom systems, like Bose-Einstein condensates, can be applied to fields such as nuclear physics and statistical optics, highlighting analogies and challenges.

Contribution

It demonstrates the applicability of cold atom knowledge to other fields and discusses the analogies and differences with nuclear physics and statistical optics.

Findings

Comparison of cold Fermi gases with nuclear and neutron matter.

Connection between BECs and atom lasers via matter-wave analogy.

Identification of challenges to deepen understanding of cold atom systems.

Abstract

In the last 25 years, much progress has been made producing and controlling Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and degenerate Fermi gases. The advances in trapping, cooling and tuning the interparticle interactions in these cold atom systems lead to an unprecedented amount of control that one can exert over them. This work aims to show that knowledge acquired studying cold atom systems can be applied to other fields that share similarities and analogies with them, provided that the differences are also known and taken into account. We focus on two specific fields, nuclear physics and statistical optics. The nuclear physics discussion occurs with the BCS-BEC crossover in mind, in which we compare cold Fermi gases with nuclear and neutron matter and nuclei. We connect BECs and atom lasers through both systems' matter-wave character for the analogy with statistical optics. Finally, we present some challenges that, if solved, would increase our understanding of cold atom systems and, thus, the related areas.