1. 1 Solid Light: trapping photons in photonic crystals Andrew D. Greentree School of Physics University of Melbourne July Lecture in Physics July 18 2008

2. 2 The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust Wikipedia

3. 3 Outline Phase transitions  Type I and Type II Quantum mechanics  Interference and measurement  The cat Photonics  Hopping  Feathers  Bandgap materials Solid light A seemingly intractable problem and an outline of its solution

4. 4 Phase transitions (Type I) Pressure [atm] Temperature [°C] Wikipedia

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6. 6 Quantum interference Source Double SlitsDetector Screen ? Slit 1 Slit 2 Waves Particles Slit 1 Slit 2

7. 7 Quantum interference

8. 8 Quantum Interference 2 BEC Interference C 60 C 70

9. 9 Galaxy Cluster Abell 2218's "Gravitational Lens"

10. 10 Gravitational Lensing Einstein Ring Gravitational Lens (SDSS J162746.44-005357.5)

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12. 12 Black-hole interferometer

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14. 14 Photonic crystals Akahane et al., Nature 425, 944 (2003) Wikipedia

15. 15 Peacock feathers – natural photonic crystals S. Smyth, National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (2007)

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17. 17 Schrödinger’s Cat Wikipedia

18. 18 Superpositions in space

19. 19 Random walks - classical

20. 20 Random walks - quantum

21. 21 Towards solid light – two noninteracting cats

22. 22 Towards solid light – two interacting cats

23. 23 Hubbard model Greiner et al., Nature 415, 39 (2002) http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/itamp/bec/bloch/online.html

24. 24 Solid-light AG, Tahan, Cole, Hollenberg, Nat. Phys. 2, 856 (2006)

25. 25 The phase transition

26. 26 An unsolved problem Wikipedia

27. 27 Acknowledgements The team for tonight  Nick Nicola  Jude Prezens  Wayne Powrie  Stephen Marshall  Peter Degorski Solid light  Jared Cole  Charles Tahan  Mel Makin  James Quach  Lloyd Hollenberg No cats were harmed in the making of this presentation

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29. 29 Polarisation of light