Physical Society Colloquium

The response of a uniform electron gas to a localized perturbation has long been a unifying theme in condensed matter physics. A common feature of this response is that it generally decays or oscillates within a decaying envelope with greater distance from the source perturbation. We have discovered a new response, called a ``Quantum Mirage'', in which the effect of a single perturbing atom is refocussed and made to be large again at distances far from the atom. I will discuss the experiments in which we have observed the mirage, the physical principles on which the mirage is based, the possible applications of the mirage and the outstanding questions concerning the underlying physics.

Friday, November 17th 2000, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Keys Auditorium (room 112)