2013

Raffaella Grassi

Quantum gas goes below absolute zero

Temperature in a gas can reach below absolute zero thanks to a quirk of

quantum physics. PHOTOCREO MICHAL BEDNAREK/THINKSTOCK

Raffaella Grassi
London UK
04/01/2013

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(Merali, 2013) Ultracold atoms pave way for negative-Kelvin materials.
It may sound less likely than hell freezing over, but physicists have created an atomic
gas with a sub-absolute-zero temperature for the first time. Their technique opens
the door to generating negative-Kelvin materials and new quantum devices, and it
could even help to solve a cosmological mystery.
Lord Kelvin defined the absolute temperature scale in the mid-1800 in such a way that
nothing could be colder than absolute zero. Physicists later realized that the absolute
temperature of a gas is related to the average energy of its particles. Absolute zero
corresponds to the theoretical state in which particles have no energy at all, and
higher temperatures correspond to higher average energies.
However, by the 1950, physicists working with more exotic systems began to realise
that this isn't always true: Technically, you read off the temperature of a system
from a graph that plots the probabilities of its particles being found with certain
energies. Normally, most particles have average or near-average energies, with only a
few particles zipping around at higher energies. In theory, if the situation is reversed,
with more particles having higher, rather than lower, energies, the plot would flip over
and the sign of the temperature would change from a positive to a negative absolute
temperature, explains Ulrich Schneider, a physicist at the Ludwig Maximilian University
in Munich, Germany.

Peaks and valleys

Schneider and his colleagues reached such sub-absolute-zero temperatures with an
ultracold quantum gas made up of potassium atoms. Using lasers and magnetic fields,
they kept the individual atoms in a lattice arrangement. At positive temperatures, the
atoms repel, making the configuration stable. The team then quickly adjusted the
magnetic fields, causing the atoms to attract rather than repel each other. This
suddenly shifts the atoms from their most stable, lowest-energy state to the highest
possible energy state, before they can react, says Schneider. Its like walking
through a valley, then instantly finding yourself on the mountain peak.
At positive temperatures, such a reversal would be unstable and the atoms would
collapse inwards. But the team also adjusted the trapping laser field to make it more
energetically favourable for the atoms to stick in their positions. This result,
described today in Science, marks the gass transition from just above absolute zero
to a few billionths of a Kelvin below absolute zero.

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Wolfgang Ketterle, a physicist and Nobel laureate at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge, who has previously demonstrated negative absolute
temperatures in a magnetic system, calls the latest work an experimental tour de
force. Exotic high-energy states that are hard to generate in the laboratory at
positive temperatures become stable at negative absolute temperatures as though
you can stand a pyramid on its head and not worry about it toppling over, he notes
and so such techniques can allow these states to be studied in detail. This may be
a way to create new forms of matter in the laboratory, Ketterle adds.
If built, such systems would behave in strange ways, says Achim Rosch, a theoretical
physicist at the University of Cologne in Germany, who proposed the technique used by
Schneider and his team. For instance, Rosch and his colleagues have calculated that
whereas clouds of atoms would normally be pulled downwards by gravity, if part of
the cloud is at a negative absolute temperature, some atoms will move upwards,
apparently defying gravity.
Another peculiarity of the sub-absolute-zero gas is that it mimics 'dark energy', the
mysterious force that pushes the Universe to expand at an ever-faster rate against
the inward pull of gravity. Schneider notes that the attractive atoms in the gas
produced by the team also want to collapse inwards, but do not because the negative
absolute temperature stabilises them. Its interesting that this weird feature pops up
in the Universe and also in the lab, he says. This may be something that
cosmologists should look at more closely.

Bibliography
Merali, Z. (2013, January 3). Quantum gas goes below absolute zero.

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Raaffaella Graassi Bio

Boorn in Italy in thee early 60s, Rafffaella Grassi form

med her
background in the Polytechnic and the State Univeersity in
Millan. Trained in Aeerospace Engineerring and in Geo SSciences,
she is also skilledd in MBO and Project Managemeent. She
maarried in 1989 andd has one son.
Duuring early years Raffaella Grassi worked about d ifferent
chaallenges; in 1994
4 and then with Tecno Europa Inddustries
she started deveeloping her expperience in fibeers for
inddustrial applicatioons and high techhnology fibers. R affaella
Grassi started thhe most recent development in carbon
fibbers, with NTT Group
G
that is making a completeely new
prooduction method for carbon fiberss.
Sinnce 2011 Raffaeella Grassi is Vice-president
V
BBusiness
Deevelopment and Head of the Opportunity Ev aluation
Committee at NT
TT Carbon Fiber Group; she has a
connsolidated backgground being Officer with spec ialty in
Maanagement
and
Business
Development,
D
CContract

Management an
nd Long Term MMarketing Strateggies at NTT
Group since lon
ng time.
Raffaella Gras
ssi is an ambitiouus and focused leader, with
extensive inte
ernational experrience, with prooven lasting
results within
n a broad rangge of industrial solutions,
projects and ve
entures.
During long term employmennts prior the NTT Group
challenge, she developed, plan ned and executeed a number
of successful change projectss, to all of which she has
contributed sig
gnificantly for thee growth and proofitability of
those Companie
es.
During currentt employment att NTT Carbon Fiber
F
Group,
Raffaella Gras
ssi implemented a strict excellence based
strategy, while developing business usingg an easy
understanding of complex cooncepts and prooblems, and
converting ana
alysis, solutions and ideas into logical and
durable strategies.

A complete profile can be downloadeed on LinkedIn.

Vissit Raffaella Grasssi professional blog
b
http://rfgpr ofessional.blogspot.com for furthe
er information.

Coopyright 2013 Rafffaella Grassi