Competition between Weak Quantum Measurement and Many-Body Dynamics in Ultracold Bosonic Gases (Dr. W. Kozlowski)

Here we show how elevating light to the quantum level leads to novel phenomena, inaccessible in setups based on classical optics. Interfacing a many-body atomic system with quantum light opens it to the environment in an essentially nonlocal way, where spatial coupling can be carefully designed. The effect of measurement backaction results in the generation of multiple many-body spatial modes which in turn lead to novel multimode dynamics when the coupling is weak. On the other hand, strong measurement leads to non-Hermitian dynamics with selective suppression and enhancement of dynamical processes beyond quantum Zeno dynamics. Finally, we consider measurement backaction due to coupling to the matter-field interference and show it leads to a new type of measurement projections beyond those postulated by the Copenhagen interpretation.