Speaker
Description
Speaker: Joseph Bramante
Abstract: The CATCHY experiment (Coherent Atomic Transitions in Counter-pulsed Hydrogen) is a pathfinder experiment to develop a method for amplifying weak particle interactions through macroscopic quantum coherence. Traditional astroparticle detection methods currently improve sensitivity by increasing target mass and exposure time, and at present often require tons of material and observation periods spanning decades. In contrast, a CATCHY-style detector uses two-photon excitation of parahydrogen to achieve a collective response to electromagnetic fields, with signal rates that scale as $N^2$, the square of the number of molecules in the detection volume. While standard superradiance is typically limited to micron scales by the optical wavelength, this experiment aims to establish coherence across a few centimeters. In this talk, I will talk about a framework for achieving such a macroscopic coherent quantum state and discuss its future potential as a very sensitive detector.