Atoms & Limits of Quantum Theory

A one-day meeting sponsored by the Institute of Physics and CCP2

September 20 1995 at University College, London.

This meeting replaces the meeting listed in the previous UK Nonlinear News for 14 July 1995, which was abandoned because of the national train-drivers strike on that day.

Subject of the Meeting
Programme
Venue

Subject of the Meeting

Atoms and molecules provide some of the best theoretical and experimental probes of the shadowy border between classical and quantum theory. The meeting is aimed at a general physics audience and postgraduate students in particular, and will provide a broad review of existing problems at the quantum/classical interface.

Topics include:

Chaos in Atoms & Molecules: Atomic/molecular spectra in the limit of classical chaos; Quantum suppression of chaos.; Manifestations of chaos in time-dependent and time-independent systems; Quantum scars, localisation and spectral statistics.
Beyond the Schroedinger Equation: Do we now understand wavefunction collapse and quantum jumps ?; How does one achieve decoherence - the loss of the wave-like character of a quantum system and the process which is at the heart of the transition from quantum to classical behaviour.; Two new approaches - Consistent histories and Quantum State Diffusion: are they consistent ?; Possible atomic tests.
Quantum Dynamics: Wavepacket dynamics in atoms and molecules. Theory and experiments.

Programme

(The ordering of the speakers is not final and may be changed)

10 30 am  - 11  am     Coffee & Registration in S. Cloisters

11        - 11 50 am   Ian Percival (Queen Mary Westfield College)
                       What makes Decoherence ?

11 50     - 12 40      Jonathan Halliwell (Imperial College)
                       The Decohering Histories approach to Quantum Theory


12 40     - 1 30 pm    LUNCH BREAK


1 30 pm   - 2 20 pm    Barry Garraway (Imperial College)
                       Femto-chemistry and Femto-cats 

2 20 pm   - 3 10 pm    M S Child (Oxford)
                       Non-linearity and Chaos in molecular models

3 10 pm   - 3 40 pm    TEA BREAK


3 40 pm   - 4 30 pm    D Richards (OU)
                       Chaos in time-dependent atomic systems

4 30 pm   - 5 20pm     D Delande (Ecole Normale, Paris)
                       Atoms & Chaos : quantum, classical or semiclassical?

5 30 pm   - 6   pm     Discussion : Atoms & limits of quantum theory

6 pm                   END

The final discussion will provide a forum for contributions from the audience and additional questions. It is hoped that everybody will join in. If participants wish to circulate preprints / articles on topics related to the meeting they are encouraged to bring along copies of their papers . There will be a preprint rack or table.

Venue

The meeting will be held in the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, in the main building of University College London, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT

Nearest tube stations: Euston Sq, Goodge St and Warren St.

Coffee and registration will be held in the South Cloisters at 10 30 am. The South Cloisters area is accessible from the College main quad. Go in through the main College gate. You will be facing the main building. To the right of the columns you will find a door marked 'South Cloisters'.

The Gustave Tuck Lecture theatre itself is on the second floor nearly directly above the S Cloisters area; stairs and a lift leading up to the lecture theatre are close to the southern end of the cloisters area.

For further information or assistance with accommodation etc please contact the organiser:

Dr. T.S. Monteiro (T.monteiro@vms.rhbnc.ac.uk)

Mathematics Department,

Royal Holloway University of London,

Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX,

Tel.: 01784 443097 Fax: 01784 437520

<< Move to UK Nonlinear News Issue Two index page

uk-nonl@ucl.ac.uk 15 Sept. 1995