Eric J. Heller

Eric Heller's research group focuses on few body quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum chaos. Recurrent but not universal themes are semiclassical approximations, classical nonlinear dynamics and time-dependent quantum mechanics. Recent progress in semiclassical methods has allowed a wide range of new quantum problems to be understood in terms of classical mechanics, greatly aiding physical insight. At the other end of the spectrum, the extreme quantum limit (e.g. ultracold collisions, proximity resonances and related effect such as Dicke super- and sub-radiance, and Bose-Einstein condensation) have come to the forefront and are also group interests.

Specifically, current investigations include ultracold atom-atom, atom-surface, and three body collisions; two-dimensional scattering theory of quantum dots, surface state electron "quantum corral" scattering from defects and adsorbed atoms on metal surfaces, localization theory of eigenstates, semiclassical theory of tunneling and diffraction, and quantum correspondence to classical chaos (scars, spectra, wavefunctions, dynamics).

Selected Publications

E.J. Heller and S. Tomsovic, "Postmodern quantum mechanics," Phys.Today 46, 38 (1993).

E.J. Heller, "Quantum proximity resonances," Phys. Rev. Lett.. 77, 4122 (1996).

R. Cote, E. J. Heller, and A. Dalgarno, "Quantum suppression of cold atomic collisions," Phys. Rev. A 53, 234 (1996).

L. Kaplan and E. J. Heller, "Overcoming the wall in the semiclassical Baker's map," Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1563 (1996).

S. Chan and E. J. Heller, "STM surface state electron scattering: two-tip experiments and other variations from one-tip data," Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2570 (1997).

N. Maitra and E. J. Heller, "Barrier tunneling and reflection in the time and energy domains: the battle of the exponentials," Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3035 (1997).

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