Event Details

Optics News

The Role in Magnetoreception in Bird Navigation

Speaker: Rongxin Chen

It is now widely accepted that migratory birds use the Earth's magnetic field to guide their movements over long distances each year. However, the exact biophysical mechanism enabling birds to perceive cues from geomagnetic fields for navigation has not yet been well established and remains largely controversial. In this talk, I will first review some remarkable characteristics of magnetic navigation obtained from behavioral experiments with migratory birds. Then I will briefly introduce the radical pair model that may provide physical basis for magnetic compass in birds.

Main Talk

Rabi Oscillation Produced by Adiabatic Pulse Due to Initial Atomic Coherence

Speaker: Zhenhuan Yi

Quantum Amplification by Superradiant Emission of Radiation (QASER) is a recent proposed mechanism to achieve light amplification in the backward direction. For a two-level system, this mechanism requires week Rabi oscillation driven by long adiabatic pulse of far-detuned radiation, but slow raising adiabatic pulse will not induce Rabi oscillation unless an initial atomic coherece is involved [1]. We experimentally show that with initial atomic coherence, such oscillation can be observed and this method may help experimental demonstration of QASER.