Dr Matthew Davis, ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics - School of Physical Sciences

Dr Matthew Davis

A University of Queensland quantum physicist is applying a new theory to an old problem.

Dr Matthew Davis, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics within the School of Physical Sciences, is working on a new state of matter – a Bose- Einstein condensate – to further understand the very nature of the universe.

“The beauty of a Bose-Einstein condensate is that it is similar to a laser but made of matter,” Dr Davis said.

“It is a collection of atoms that are perfectly coherent and have the potential to be used in ultra-sensitive measurement devices.”

Dr Davis’s work has been recognised as one of the 2007 winners of the UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards.

“I’m very pleased that my research record and proposed project have been judged worthy of such a prestigious award,” Dr Davis said.

“This will greatly facilitate the implementation of some of my ideas.”

Dr Davis said BECs were first predicted in the 1920s by Albert Einstein, but not realised in the laboratory until many years later, in 1995.

His own particular interest is looking at how the BECs form and especially how quantum whirlpools, called vortices, are formed.

“This will hopefully answer broader questions about the nature of certain types of phase transitions, and will feed into experiments being performed by my collaborators at the University of Arizona,” he said.

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