National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons

An Interim Report

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This project was supported by the Department of Energy under Award No. DE-FG02-04ER15610; NAS and the National Science Foundation under Award No. PHY-0443243. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.

Cover: Upper left, Simulation of X-ray diffraction pattern of anthrax from the Linear Coherent Light Source (courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). Upper right, Time-of-flight images showing a fermionic condensate (courtesy of JILA/University of Colorado). Below, Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) interferograms created by laserlike (or coherent) beams of short wavelength light centered at photon energies of 45 eV and diffracted by pinhole pairs at separations of 150 µm (left) and 250 µm (right) (courtesy of JILA/University of Colorado).

International Standard Book Number 0-309-10076-3.

Additional copies of this report are available from: The
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet <http://www.nap.edu>; and the Board on Physics and Astronomy, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001; Internet <http://www.national-academies.org/bpa>.

Copyright 2005 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

COMMITTEE ON AMO 2010

PHILIP H. BUCKSBAUM,

University of Michigan,

Co-chair

ROBERT EISENSTEIN, Co-chair

GORDON A. BAYM,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

C. LEWIS COCKE,

Kansas State University

ERIC A. CORNELL,

University of Colorado/JILA

E. NORVAL FORTSON,

University of Washington

KEITH HODGSON,

Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory

ANTHONY M. JOHNSON,

University of Maryland at Baltimore County

STEVEN KAHN,

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

MARK A. KASEVICH,

Stanford University

WOLFGANG KETTERLE,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

KATE KIRBY,

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

PIERRE MEYSTRE,

University of Arizona

CHRISTOPHER MONROE,

University of Michigan

MARGARET M. MURNANE,

University of Colorado/JILA

WILLIAM D. PHILLIPS,

National Institute of Standards and Technology

STEPHEN T. PRATT,

Argonne National Laboratory

K. BIRGITTA WHALEY,

University of California at Berkeley

Consultants to the committee

NEIL CALDER,

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

NEAL F. LANE,

Rice University

Staff

DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Study Director

BRIAN D. DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate

PAMELA A. LEWIS, Program Associate

VAN AN, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

BURTON RICHTER,

Stanford University,

Chair

ANNEILA L. SARGENT,

California Institute of Technology,

Vice Chair

ELIHU ABRAHAMS,

Rutgers University

JONATHAN BAGGER,

Johns Hopkins University

RONALD C. DAVIDSON,

Princeton University

RAYMOND J. FONCK,

University of Wisconsin at Madison

ANDREA M. GHEZ,

University of California at Los Angeles

PETER GREEN,

University of Michigan

LAURA H. GREENE,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

FRANCES HELLMAN,

University of California at Berkeley

ERICH P. IPPEN,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MARC A. KASTNER,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,

University of California at Berkeley

JOSE ONUCHIC,

University of California at San Diego

JULIA M. PHILLIPS,

Sandia National Laboratories

WILLIAM PHILLIPS,

National Institute of Standards and Technology

THOMAS N. THEIS,

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

C. MEGAN URRY,

Yale University

Staff

DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director

TIMOTHY I. MEYER, Senior Program Officer

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Senior Program Officer

ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer

NATALIA MELCER, Program Officer

BRIAN D. DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate

DAVID B. LANG, Research Assistant

PAMELA A. LEWIS, Program Associate

VAN AN, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

PREFACE

The National Research Council of the National Academies has undertaken a study of opportunities in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) science and technology over roughly the next decade. The charge for this study was devised by the Board on Physics and Astronomy’s standing committee on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Science (CAMOS) in consultation with the study’s sponsors, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. The committee carrying out the AMO 2010 study, has been asked to assess the state of AMO science, emphasizing recent accomplishments and identifying new and compelling scientific questions. The committee’s final report, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2006, is a part of the ongoing Physics 2010 decadal survey that is being undertaken by the National Academy’s Board on Physics and Astronomy.

The purpose of this short interim report is to provide a preview of the final document. It summarizes the committee’s opinion on the key opportunities in forefront AMO science and in closely related critical technologies and discusses some of the broad-scale conclusions of the final report. It also identifies how AMO science supports national R&D priorities.

Significant effort has been made to solicit community input for this study. This has been done by means of town meetings, one of them held at the Annual Meeting of the Division of AMO Physics of the American Physical Society (APS) in Lincoln, Nebraska, in May 2005, and another held at the International Quantum Electronics Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, also in May 2005. The committee also solicited input from the community through a public Web site. It will welcome input for as long as possible following the release of this interim report.

The committee has also received valuable advice from its consultants, Neal Lane, Rice University, and Neil Calder, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

The committee’s work on the final report is continuing with an enthusiasm that is inspired by the tremendous excitement within the AMO science community about future R&D opportunities. It looks forward to sharing that compelling excitement with the broader R&D community and its sponsors, with the release of its final report in 2006.

Philip Bucksbaum

Co-chair

Robert Eisenstein

Co-chair

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REVIEWERS

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Keith Burnett, Oxford University,

Alexander Dalgarno, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,

Gerald Gabrielse, Harvard University,

Chris H. Greene, University of Colorado,

William Happer, Princeton University,

Wendell T. Hill, University of Maryland,

Erich P. Ippen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Gerard J. Milburn, The University of Queensland, and

Richart E. Slusher, Lucent Technologies.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Daniel Kleppner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11482.
×
Page R7
Next: Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report »
Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report Get This Book
×
Buy Ebook | $4.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) science illustrates powerfully the ties of fundamental physics to society. Its very name comes from three of the twentieth century's greatest advances: the establishment of the atom as the building block of matter; the development of quantum mechanics, which made it possible to understand the inner workings of atoms and molecules; and the invention of the laser.

Advances made possible by the scientists in this field touch almost every sphere of societal importance in the past century. Navigation by the stars gave way to navigation by clocks, which in turn has given way to today's navigation by atomic clocks. Laser surgery has replaced the knife for the most delicate operations. Homeland security relies on a multitude of screening technologies based on AMO research to detect toxins in the air and hidden weapons in luggage or on persons, to name a few. New drugs are now designed with the aid of x-ray scattering to determine their structure at the molecular level using AMO-based precision measurement techniques. And the global economy depends critically on high-speed telecommunication by laser light sent over thin optical fibers encircling the globe. AMO scientists are proud of their central role in science and society in the twentieth century, and they have been rewarded with numerous Nobel prizes over the past decade, including the 2005 prize in physics. But in this report we look to the future.

The National Research Council of the National Academies has undertaken a study of opportunities in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) science and technology over roughly the next decade. The committee carrying out the AMO 2010 study, has been asked to assess the state of AMO science, emphasizing recent accomplishments and identifying new and compelling scientific questions. The six grand challenges, summarized below, will each form a chapter of the committee's final report:

  • What is the nature of physical law?
  • What happens at the lowest temperatures in the universe?
  • What happens when we turn up the power?
  • Can we control the inner workings of a molecule?
  • How will we control and exploit the nanoworld?
  • What lies beyond Moore's law?

Controlling the Quantum World of Atoms, Molecules, and Photons: An Interim Report provides a preview of the final document. It summarizes the committee's opinion on the key opportunities in forefront AMO science and in closely related critical technologies and discusses some of the broad-scale conclusions of the final report. It also identifies how AMO science supports national R&D priorities.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!