Physics Research Seminar: Salvatore Butera (University of Glasgow, UK)

Welcome to join us for a research seminar by Salvatore Butera from the University of Glasgow, UK!

Dr. Butera is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow working in the Quantum Theory group within The School of Physics and Astronomy of Glasgow University.

Host: Grazia Salerno/Quantum Dynamics group

Title: Backreaction of Quantum Field Processes in Condensed-Matter Systems

Abstract: 

The problem of the backreaction of quantum fields plunges its roots in the field of gravity but, nevertheless, is a general concept and relevant to a wide range of physical systems. It addresses the study of nonequilibrium quantum fields interacting with macroscopic systems, aiming to elucidate how microscopic physics manifests as macroscopic phenomena such as dissipation and quantum decoherence in many-body systems.

We present recent work on the problem within the frameworks of optomechanics and analogue gravity models. In optomechanics, an electromagnetic field interacts with a dynamical boundary condition, as exemplified by an optical mirror in a typical optical cavity. We specifically focus on the dynamical effects on the mirror's motion induced by dynamical Casimir emission, that is the creation of photon pairs out of the vacuum due to the non-adiabatic motion of the mirror. In the context of analogue gravity, we utilise a Bose-Einstein condensate of ultracold atoms to simulate quantum field processes and phenomena predicted to occur during the preheating stage of the early Universe, that is the phase when matter is created out of the primordial inflaton oscillations.

Through these examples, we demonstrate that condensed-matter systems provide a versatile platform for exploring the physics of the quantum vacuum, and allow for the phenomenological investigation of quantum field effects originally predicted in the context of gravity, whose investigation is beyond the reach of current experimental capabilities.