The Munich Atom Chip Group, under the direction of Theodor Hänsch at the University of Munich and the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics is working to find ways to learn more about physics at the most fundamental levels.
“We have studied in detail whether it is possible to prepare cold atoms close to a solid state chip surface without losing coherence properties,” Philipp Treutlein, a member of the research group, tells PhysOrg.com. “We showed that it is possible to prepare coherent superpositions of atomic quantum states at only a few micrometers distance from a solid surface.” The next step, he says, is to “put something interesting on the surface and see how it will interact with the atoms, and whether the interaction reveals quantum effects.”
