2025-04-07 - 2025-04-11
Matthias Weidemüller
Heidelberg University
Fore more than a century, the investigation of the fundamental principles governing the interaction between light and atoms has lead to many important discoveries shaping our understanding of Nature, ranging from the early days of quantum mechanics to the development of modern quantum technologies. One of the fascinating features of this research topic is the wealth of physical concepts involved to understand atom-light interactions at various levels of complexity, which, in return, leads to an ever growing plethora of technological applications.
In my lecture, I will provide a concise introduction into our current understanding of light-matter interactions and its applications. Starting from purely classical concepts, I will introduce the effects of quantization, both of light and matter. Collective phenomena will be encountered, as well as features of the interaction of single photons with single atoms. The discussion of basic concepts will be complemented by a selection of applications, including quantum technologies. The course addresses students and researchers from all areas of physics. It requires basic knowledge in physics at the M.Sc. level, and will be given in an interactive manner.
