Physicists at The Australian National University have developed a theoretical model that will guide scientists in their quest to make an atomic laser.
Dr Joe Hope of the Department of Physics said that creating a stable, continuous atomic laser was the Holy Grail for quantum physicists and would provide the basic tool for a new generation of technologies.
"Continuous atomic lasers will make possible technoloiges from quantum computers that can do calculations at unimaginable speed, through to amazingly accurate clocks and instruments," Dr Hope said.
He said physicists worldwide had attempted to build a stable atomic laser after the Nobel Prize was given in 2001 for creating a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) - a super-cold cloud of atoms only a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero.
"The first creation of a BEC allowed scientists to aim for an atomic laser as it was discovered that the cloud of atoms could be used to produce a beam of atoms, much like a laser produces a beam of photons or light particles," Dr Hope said.
By developing a theoretical model of what occurs when a BEC is used to produce a laser, Honours student Simon Haine found that the most stable beam was produced when repulsion between the atoms was increased - disproving previously accepted theory.
"The results from this theoretical model will surprise the international community and prevent researchers from following dead ends," Mr Haine said.
The researchers said that in order to produce a working atomic laser they would need to develop the fundamental theories further and learn how to create a continuous supply of ultra-cold atoms.
Item provided courtesy of The Australian National University
For further information please visit The ANU-BEC website
