 ccording
to our Special Topics analysis of research on Bose-Einstein
Condensates over the past decade, Gordon Baym and Chris
Pethick’s paper, "Ground-state properties of
magnetically trapped Bose-condensed rubidium gas," (Physical
Review Letters 76[37781]: 1996), ranks at #7
with 366 cites to date. In the interview below, Dr. Baym and
Professor Pethick discuss their highly cited paper. Dr. Baym
is the George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of
Engineering and the Center for Advanced Study Professor of
Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Professor Pethick hails from NORDITA, the Nordic Institute for
Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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 Why
do you think your paper is highly cited?
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“...the field has now become a fertile area in itself for theoretical condensed-matter physics...”
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This is the first paper to lay out quantitatively, together with
qualitative scaling arguments, the basic structure of magnetically
trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensates.
What
are the circumstances which led you to your work?
After participating in several conferences on Bose-Einstein
condensation, in which my primary interest was in condensates in
nuclear and elementary particles systems, I learned in June 1995 of
the new experiments, and Chris Pethick and I set out to analyze them
immediately thereafter at the Aspen Center for Physics.
Would
you describe the significance of this work for your field?
In addition to providing a basic theoretical handle on the
structure of the atomic condensates, our paper had the interesting
effect, by bridging the gap between atomic physics and
condensed-matter physics, of encouraging a number of
condensed-matter physicists to work on the problem (with great
success).
Where
has this research gone since the publication of your paper? Where do
you see it going 10 years from now?
The field has completely taken off. Beyond beautiful
technological applications, e.g., atom lasers, slow light, etc., the
field has now become a fertile area in itself for theoretical
condensed-matter physics, studying problems such as the states of
very rapidly rotating condensates, insulator-superconductor
transitions in optical lattices, etc.
What
lessons would you draw from your work to share with the next
generation of researchers?
Following new developments outside one's usual area can provide a
vital source of new ideas and scientific problems.
Gordon Baym, Ph.D.
Department of Physics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL, USA
and
Professor C.J. Pethick
NORDITA
Copenhagen, Denmark
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ESI Special Topics,
April 2004
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/bose/interviews/Baym_Pethick.html
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