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John E. Thomas

Fritz London Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics
Physics
Box 90305, Durham, NC 27708-0305
185 Physics Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Professor John E. Thomas is exploring the physics of an optically trapped degenerate Fermi gas. The group pioneered the development of ultrastable all-optical traps for neutral atoms in 1999, achieving trap lifetimes of more than 400 seconds, comparable to the best magnetic traps. The group has developed methods for direct evaporative cooling of neutral atoms in optical traps, enabling the first all-optical production of a degenerate Fermi gas in 2001. The trapped gas comprises a degenerate 50-50 mixture of spin-up and spin-down fermionic lithium-6 atoms, which exhibits a collisional (Feshbach) resonance in a bias magnetic field. In 2002, the Duke group was the first to produce and study a strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gas. This system exhibits universal behavior and is a paradigm for testing nonperturbative many-body calculational methods in disciplines from nuclear matter to high temperature superconductors. In 2004, the Duke group was the first to observe evidence for high temperature superfluid hydrodynamics in a strongly interacting Fermi gas. Ongoing experiments include studies of the thermodynamics and transport properties of this unique quantum system.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Fritz London Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics · 2011 - Present Physics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus of Physics · 2011 - Present Physics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Education, Training & Certifications


Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 1979 Ph.D.