8422x_course_intro.txt

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Welcome to 8.422X, the MIT course on Atomic and Optical
Physics.
This course is the second part of a two-semester course.
It can be taken independently, or it can be taken before
or after part one, which is 8.421X.
This course, reveals the quantum world of photons and atoms.
We start with photons and address their quantum nature,
which comes in the form of single photons,
and in the form of squeezed light.
Photons can only be in such states
when they interact with atoms.
It is only through atoms that photons are interacting
and become correlated.
At the next step, we discuss the interactions
between photons and atoms, starting from basic concepts.
Virtual photons lead to van der Waals forces and Casimir
forces.
Real photons can be scattered into empty space
and therefore, constitute an open quantum
system, which will be described by a master equation.
The momentum of photons leads to mechanical forces of light,
and have created a new sub-field of physics,
laser cooling, and trapping of atoms.
Such ultracooled atoms are now used
to explore novel many-body physics
with bosons and fermions, and to realize quantum gates.
So as you will see, this course takes you
from fundamental principles right to the frontiers
of current research.