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Experimental realization of a synthetic Lorentz force
“Scientific reports” has recently published a paper describing experiments on cold atomic gasses performed at Institut of Physics in Zagreb. Neven Šantić, Tena Dubček, Damir Aumiler, Hrvoje Buljan and Ticijana Ban have successfully created conditions in which neutral atoms at temperatures of only a few tens of μK above absolute zero, when exposed to laser light, behave just like charged particles in a magnetic field. More details can be found in the article itself at http://www.nature.com/articles/srep13485.
Inside a magnetic field, charged particles feel a force perpendicular to their velocity. This so-called Lorentz force is of particular interest in understanding charged many-body systems, eg. in plasma physics. In a recent experiment, researchers from Zagreb realized a synthetic Lorentz force which acts on neutral atoms in cold gasses trapped in the magneto-optical trap (MOT). These results are an important step in developing classical emulators that could simulate complex classical systems, such as for example a tokamak fusion reactor or astrophysical objects. The experimental part of the team was lead by dr. Ticijana Ban at the Institut of Physics, and the theory part by prof. dr. sc. Hrvoje Buljan, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. This research is supported by the project Unity Through Knowledge (UKF) 5/13, principal investigators Buljan (Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb) and Soljačić (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT).