Wizardry with light: freeze, teleport, and go!
Note: The Benson T. Chertok Lecture
Speaker: Lene Vestergaard-Hau, Harvard University
When: November 17, 2009 (Tue), 03:30PM to 04:30PM
Hosted by: William Klein
View the poster for this event.
This event is part of the Department Colloquia Series. Colloquia are at 3:30 in the Metcalf Science Center (SCI 107). Refreshments will be served at 3:15 in the 1st Floor Lounge
Abstract:
In our laboratory, we routinely slow light to bicycle speed in ultra cold atom clouds. This is a 100 million fold slow down compared to the light speed in vacuum. In the process, light pulses spatially compress by the same large factor, from 1 mile to only 0.001”, at which point they fit entirely within an atom cloud and can be stopped completely for more than a second. In some of our latest experiments, we take matters further: We stop and extinguish a light pulse in one part of space and revive it in a completely different location. The experiments create a new paradigm for control and inter-conversion of light and matter…. and the secret behind the tricks will be revealed in the talk.
