Quantum BC Seminar Series – Jeff McGuirk

Join us on Tuesday, February 13 at 2pm for a seminar by Dr. Jeff McGuirk from Simon Fraser University.

https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=TGhhTXFIQ3ZiUmNrN0pUa3FObTNydz09

Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: 996727

Seminar Title: Spin diffusion and domain wall dynamics in a nondegenerate ultracold gas

Abstract: The transport of spin in an ultracold gas can demonstrate how microscopic interactions lead to macroscopic dissipative and coherent effects. Subtle properties of individual two-atom interactions can dramatically alter behavior in bulk ensembles. Understanding these microscopic-macroscopic connections shows the importance of quantum mechanical processes to transport phenomena and may inform development of atom-based “spintronic” devices. We study spin dynamics and diffusion by initializing spin inhomogeneities, such as magnetic domains, in a weakly interacting gas just above quantum degeneracy and observing their time evolution. Our group has shown that spin diffusion can be sped, slowed, or even stopped by applying small effective magnetic fields. I will present results highlighting our attempts to understand, predict, and control the motion of spin domains in the nondegenerate regime through controlling the polarization and local Larmor precession of spins.

Bio: Dr. Jeff McGuirk is an Associate Professor of Physics at Simon Fraser University with expertise in the physics of ultracold atoms. Before joining SFU in 2004, Jeff performed his doctoral work on atom-based force sensors at Stanford and Yale and held a postdoctoral fellowship at JILA, where he worked on Bose-Einstein condensation. At SFU, the McGuirk research group is focused on experiments using ultracold atoms to explore the role of quantum symmetry in the spin dynamics of trapped atoms.