Ben Andrew Olsen
Science (Physics)
Assistant Professor
Email: ben.olsen@yale-nus.edu.sg
Dr Ben Andrew Olsen earned a BSc degree in physics at the California Institute of Technology in 2006, and a PhD in physics at Princeton University in 2011. He then studied phase separation in mixed-dimensional Fermi gases in the ultracold atoms group at Rice University in the Department of Physics & Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute. After spending a year in the industry developing atom-interferometry based inertial sensors, he joined the ultracold atoms group at the University of Toronto to study out-of-equilibrium dynamics of Fermi gases. He joined the Yale-NUS faculty in the fall of 2018.
At Yale-NUS College, Dr Olsen will build a lab to engineer exotic quantum phases using gases of ultracold atomic lithium and to study their dynamical behaviour. Using electromagnetic fields, a beam of hot lithium atoms can be trapped and cooled to less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero, and the gas will begin to be governed by quantum mechanics. Using lasers to engineer the trap shape and magnetic fields to tune the inter-particle interactions, the cloud of neutral lithium atoms can emulate the electrons in various exotic conducting materials.
This research will study the properties of many-body correlated phases both in and out of equilibrium to help pave the way toward advanced quantum technologies including quantum information and advanced sensing.
Luciuk, S. Smale, F. Böttcher, H. Sharum, B. A. Olsen, S. Trotzky, T. Enss, and J. H. Thywissen, Observation of Quantum-Limited Spin Transport in Strongly Interacting Two-Dimensional Fermi Gases, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 130405 (2017)
C. Revelle, J. A. Fry, B. A. Olsen, and R. G. Hulet, 1D to 3D Crossover of a Spin-Imbalanced Fermi Gas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 235301 (2016)
A. Olsen, M. C. Revelle, J. A. Fry, D. E. Sheehy, and R. G. Hulet, Phase diagram of a strongly interacting spin-imbalanced Fermi gas, Phys. Rev. A 92, 063616 (2015)
Marsland III, B. H. McGuyer, B. A. Olsen, and W. Happer, Spin-velocity correlations of optically pumped atoms, Phys. Rev. A 86, 023404 (2012)
H. McGuyer, R. Marsland III, B. A. Olsen, and W. Happer, Cusp kernels for velocity-changing collisions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 183202 (2012)
A. Olsen, B. Patton, Y.-Y. Jau, and W. Happer, Optical pumping and spectroscopy of Cs vapor at high magnetic field, Phys. Rev. A 84, 063410 (2011)
Ishikawa, B. Patton, B. A. Olsen, Y.-Y. Jau, and W. Happer, Transfer of spin angular momentum from Cs vapor to nearby Cs salts through laser-induced spin currents, Phys. Rev. A 83, 063410 (2011)
Kostinski, B. A. Olsen, R. Marsland III, B. H. McGuyer, and W. Happer, Temperature-insensitive laser frequency locking near absorption lines, Rev. Sci. Inst. 82, 033114 (2011)
Scientific Inquiry 2