Joint ICTP-SISSA SP Seminar 28.02 at SISSA Via Bonomea : Lesanovsky

[Condensed Matter Section]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	SP Seminar 28.02 at SISSA: Lesanovsky
Date: 	Mon, 27 Feb 2017 16:52:22 +0100
From: 	Vincenzo Alba <valba at sissa.it>
Reply-To: 	joint ICTP/SISSA Statistical Physics Group Seminars 
<statistical_physics_seminar at lists.ictp.it>
To: 	statistical_physics_seminar at lists.ictp.it


JOINT ICTP/SISSA STATISTICAL PHYSICS SEMINAR

Tuesday February 28 - 11:00 a.m.

SISSA Via Bonomea, room 128


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Speaker: I. Lesanovsky (Nottingham)

Title: Exploring far-from-equilibrium physics of dissipative spin
systems with highly excited atoms

Abstract: In recent years cold atomic gases have been established as a
versatile platform for the study of quantum many-body phenomena. Especially
atoms excited to highly-lying electronic states --- so-called
Rydberg atoms --- offer rather intriguing possibilities for the
exploration of strongly correlated dynamics.

In this talk I will show that the out-of-equilibrium behaviour of
these systems is governed by emergent kinetic constraints, which
are often used to mimic dynamical arrest or excluded volume effects
in idealised models of glass forming substances. In Rydberg gases
exposed to a noisy environment these constraints emerge naturally
and lead to a remarkably rich dynamics although the final
stationary state might be entirely uncorrelated and trivial.

Dynamical features include a self-similar relaxation, the existence
of correlated growth as well as the emergence of non-equilibrium
phase transitions of the directed percolation universality class,
whose experimental observation so far has been challenging.
Moreover, Rydberg gases offer an opportunity for the systematic
exploration of the role of competing quantum and classical
dynamical effects on the aforementioned non-equilibrium phase
transitions.

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