Brian P. Anderson

Associate Dean, Graduate Academic Affairs

Professor of Optical Sciences

Anderson's research involves the study of quantum fluid dynamics and quantum turbulence in dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates, or BECs. These tiny droplets of superfluid are the coldest known objects in the universe and are created using laser cooling and atom trapping techniques. They also provide a unique and versatile medium for the experiments of quantum fluid dynamics in Anderson’s lab at the College of Optical Sciences. In a superfluid such as a BEC, microscopic centers of fluid circulation called quantized vortices may be observed using optical techniques and are conspicuous indicators of the system’s superfluid dynamics. By studying the way vortices are generated and how they move and interact, a wide range of general physical phenomena well beyond Bose-Einstein condensation may be better understood. Examples include phase transition dynamics, turbulence, reduced-dimensional quantum physics and the dynamics of quantum systems far from equilibrium.

Anderson was a member of the research team that first created and observed quantized vortices in BECs in 1999, and since then has been primarily involved in experimental, numerical and theoretical studies of vortex creation, manipulation and dynamics in BECs. Current efforts in his laboratory focus on:

developing new methods for vortex generation and manipulation with laser beams for controlled studies of vortex dynamics,
studying the dynamics and statistics of vortices of two-dimensional quantum turbulence and
development of new methods for studying and observing vortices in BECs.

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