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Research Projects

PhD, Masters, and Honours research projects are available in the following areas of quantum physics:

1. Quantum thermodynamics of ultracold atomic gases   The Second Quantum Revolution is currently underway, and represents the merging of thermodynamic concepts of heat and work, born during the Industrial Revolution, with quantum concepts of information processing and entanglement. But how do the classical ideas on the nature of heat and work translate to quantum devices? Do the laws of classical thermodynamics also dictate the behaviour of processes at a quantum level, or whether new laws are needed? The project intends to shed light on these fundamental questions by developing state-of-the-art computational models of quantum-scale machines and heat engines using the platform of ultracold atomic gases. Such gases represent arcehtypical examples of interacting many-body systems, however, characterising their equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties is a chellenging problem. The knowledge arising from the project is expected to underpin experimental breakthroughs in this emerging field and aid the development of new quantum technologies.	From "Conduction of Ultracold Fermions Through a Mesoscopic Channel", J-P. Brantut et al., Science 337, 1069 (2012).
2. Nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems   The project aims to develop a new theoretical approach – stochastic quantum hydrodynamics – to understand one of the grand challenges of physics: how do complex, many-particle systems evolve in the quantum realm when driven far from equilibrium? Understanding the out-of-equilibrium behaviour of such systems will help shape a new cornerstone of physics, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, which – unlike its equilibrium counterpart – is a work in progress in modern science. The project intends to uncover the intriguing dynamical properties of superfluid (frictionless) states of ultracold atomic gases, which will help understand how these properties can be used to control out-of-equilibrium quantum matter and develop new quantum technologies.
3. Macroscopic entanglement and Bell inequality tests with ultracold atoms   The project addresses an open fundamental question in physics of how quantum mechanics applies to systems of mesoscopic and macroscopic sizes. The project will provide theoretical guidance to Australia’s research effort to experimentally demonstrate - for the first time - quantum entanglement between large, spatially separated ensembles of ultracold atoms. Apart from being of quintessential importance to validating some of the foundational principles of quantum mechanics in new realms, controlled generation of large-scale entangled systems is important for harnessing such systems for the development of future quantum devices, as well as for enabling new insights into the unification of quantum theory with gravity.	See a related work "Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations via dissociation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate" by K. V. Kheruntsyan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 150405 (2005).

Information resources for prospective students

• Australian and New Zealand PhD students. We are looking for expressions of interest for highly-motivated domestic students from Australia and NZ*. To be competitive for an APA/UQ domestic scholarship, you will need to have/will get 1st-class honours. For Oz/NZ students we hold Postgrad Info Days for two days in September.
• International PhD students. We are looking for expressions of interest for highly-motivated international students*. To be competitive for an IPRS/UQ international scholarship (to help fund tuition fees and living costs), a Masters degree is generally required before application, along with at least one refereed journal publication accepted for publication, and English proficiency IELTS test overall score of at least 6.5. Further informations can be found here and here.
• Honours students. We have a range of projects that are suitable for honours. You can even trial a research project in the summer between your 3rd/4th years, giving you a head-start on your honours year.
• UQ Summer Vacation research scholars. We invite applicants to apply for a UQ summer vacation research scholarship to stay/visit us at UQ for a summer to get a taste of research in south-east Queensland.
• ASPinS research students. You can get involved in research throughout your undergraduate degree.

*) You should approach your prospective supervisor at least a month ahead of any advertised internal UQ School of Maths/Physics deadlines which may be earlier than the advertised UQ Graduate Office/UQ Research Office deadlines.

Five good reasons for doing a PhD project under my supervision

• You will be working on a theoretical project that is at the forefront of international developments in this field, is challenging, and is likely to have immediate relevance to the ongoing experiments in some of the world-leading experimental labs
• As a measure of the quality of your research, the target will be to publish in the disciplines top tier journals such as Phys. Rev. Lett. and Phys. Rev. A.
• Seeing you publish early in your PhD candidature will be one of my priorities.
• You will be working in a world-class research environment provided by the UQ Quantum Atom-Optics Theory group, which formed the UQ node the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics from 2003 to 2010.
• By the end of your PhD you will be an independent and internationally competitive research scientist, having specialist expertise in the field of degenerate quantum gases and atom optics and capable of doing independent world-class research.

Finally, once your PhD has been confirmed, you will receive a hand-made doctoral cap, personalised to the topic of your project, just like the one that Dr Bob (Robert Lewis-Swan) is wearing here: