Limits of mean-field models for light propagation in material samples: the index of refraction of a cold, dense atomic sample

• Grant number: 24/17058-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - General Physics
• Principal Investigator: Raul Celistrino Teixeira
• Grantee: Felipe Carvalho Brambila
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to understand how the refractive index of an assembly of cold atoms depends on its density. Following a recent theoretical proposal, an experimental platform of dense cold atoms configures the ideal experimental system for investigating the upper limit found in the refractive index of any known material sample. We hope to identify with this study the important ingredients at play for the emergence of a collective saturation of the index of refraction of matter. This experimental work involves the optimization of the cooling and trapping processes of atoms, the implementation of an experimental apparatus for measuring the electric field of light transmitted by the atomic cloud and the numerical simulation of the behavior of atoms under the action of light. A second part of this project involves studying how the refractive index should depend non-linearly on the light intensity, when it approaches the saturation intensity of the collective modes of the atomic cloud.