Murray John Holland
Assistant Professor. Ph.D. Oxford University, United Kingdom, 1994.
Lindemann Fellowship for postdoctoral research in the United States, 1994.
Rutherford Scholar of the Royal Society, 1990.
Professor
Holland's research involves theoretical studies of Bose-Einstein condensation
in a dilute gas. One reason the recent experimental observation of this
quantum degenerate system is so interesting is the possibility for providing
detailed and accurate theory. Of particular interest are the modes of oscillation,
the quantitative effect of interactions and loss processes, the behavior
of a Bose-Einstein condensed gas undergoing evaporative cooling, and the
effect of having a relatively small number of atoms on the thermodynamics.
Work has been done on the interesting prospect for an atom laser for
which a condensate is a prerequisite. Examples of future research interests
include damping processes of coherent excitations, quantum diffusion of
the condensate phase, coupling of multicomponent condensates, and new theoretical
methods for treating quantum kinetic theory.
Another area of Professor Holland's research is in the field of quantum
optics where properties of laser fields and their interaction with matter
is studied. Research is continuing on fundamental theoretical developments
for treating dissipative processes. Describing dissipation as evolution
subject to continuous measurement has led to an efficient way to study
quantum diffusion of atoms in laser cooling. Other interests are in optical
cavities and their interaction with atomic beams, and many aspects of quantum
measurement theory.
Selected Publications
-
"Theory of an atom laser," M. Holland, K. Burnett, C. Gardiner, J. I. Cirac
and P. Zoller, Phys. Rev. A 54, R1757 (1996).
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"Measurement induced localization from spontaneous decay," M. Holland,
S. Marksteiner, P. Marte and P. Zoller, Phys. Rev. Lett.76,
3683 (1996).
-
"Expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic potential," M. Holland
and J. Cooper, Phys. Rev. A 53, R1954 (1996).
-
"Quantum nondemolition measurement of photon number by atomic-beam deflection,"
M. J. Holland, D. F. Walls and P. Zoller, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67,
1716 (1991).
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