Semester Calendar Date

Controlling quantum ergodicity in molecules large and small: From C60 to ultracold alkali dimers

Abstract: Quantum ergodicity refers to the remarkable ability of quantum systems to explore their entire state space allowed by symmetry. Mechanisms for violating ergodicity are of fundamental interest in statistical and molecular physics and can offer novel insights into decoherence phenomena in complex molecular qubits.  I will discuss the recent experimental observation of ergodicity breaking in rapidly rotating C60 fullerene molecules as a function of rotational angular momentum [1].