Physics and Astronomy Calendar

I will review the physics of 1D Bose gases, and describe experiments that confirm the longstanding exact theory across all coupling regimes. I will then describe how we create 1D Bose gases far from equilibrium. These oscillating gases are quantum versions of the well-known Newton's cradle momentum lecture demonstration. Whether or not a real 1D Bose gas will thermally equlilbrate has been an open theoretical question. We observe negligible approach to equilibrium even after each atom has undergone thousands of collisions. We show that even a slight relaxation of the criteria that make the gas one dimensional allows it to thermally equilibrate.