Turgay Uzer
Regents' Professor

Ph.D., Harvard University, 1979
Phone: (404)894-4986
Fax: (404) 385-2506
Room: Howey-W511A

EMail: turgay.uzer [at] physics.gatech.edu

 

■ Research ■

My research interests lie at the broad interface of theoretical atomic, molecular, and chemical physics with nonlinear dynamics and chaos. Quantal, classical or semiclassical methods, are used to research the dynamics of microscopic (atomic/ molecular) systems whose classical behavior can exhibit chaos. Rydberg atoms, in particular, form atomic-scale laboratories on which ideas concerning the quantum mechanics of chaotic systems can be tested. Rydberg states offer enormous possibilities for exploring the Correspondence Principle limit of quantum mechanics, for constructing new lasers where they act as metastable upper levels, and as new spectroscopic an field detection probes. This is because Rydberg atoms and molecules represent an extreme form of matter: They can be as large as a fine grain of sand, can outlive excited states of ordinary atoms by many orders of magnitude, and at the same time are extremely sensitive to certain perturbations. The giant size of the Rydberg orbit turns the outer electron into an almost classical object, their long lifetime makes them ideal for storing large amounts electronic energy while the rest of the atom is being manipulated, and their sensitivity for energy and field detection is unmatched. Here we propose research that goes to the basis of these extraordinary properties: How are these states created? How are they maintained? How can they be manipulated? A key feature of our research is that it is directed at experimentally relevant problems in this field.

The application of nonlinear dynamics to the microscopic, quantal world of atoms and molecules has provided fascinating insights into their behavior. A thicket of experimental and/or theoretical data (spectral lines, energy levels, trajectories), usually conceals these insights. Classical and semiclassical methods (sometimes described with some humor as "postmodern"), are often unrivalled in providing an intuitive and computationally tractable approach to the study of such phenomena. Often, structures underlying a profusion of experimental or computational data can be uncovered in a single picture by combining the Correspondence Principle with the perturbation approaches developed by the giants of astronomy for planetary interactions to perform "celestial mechanics on a microscopic scale".

■ Publications ■

1. "Identifying Reactive Trajectories Using a Moving Transition State.
   ", T. Bartsch, R. Hernandez, J. Moix, and T. Uzer, J. Chem. Phys., 124, 244310 (2006).
2. "Stochastic Transition States: Reaction Geometry amidst Noise.
   ", T. Bartsch, R. Hernandez, and T. Uzer, J. Chem. Phys., 123, 204102 (2005).
3. "Transition State in an Noisy Environment", T. Bartsch, R. Hernandez, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 058301 (2005).
4. "A New Look at the Transition State: Wigner’s Dynamical Perspective Revisited", C. Jaff , S. Kawai, J Palacián, P. Yanguas, and T. Uzer, Adv. Chem. Phys. 130A, 171-216 (2005).
5. "Analyzing Intramolecular Dynamics by Fast Lyapunov Indicators", E. Shchekinova, C. Chandre, Y. Lan, and T. Uzer, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 3471-3477 (2004).
6. "Time-Frequency Analysis of Chaotic Systems", C. Chandre, S. Wiggins, and T. Uzer, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena 181, 171-196 (2003).
7. "Statistical Theory of Asteroid Escape Rates", C. Jaff, S. D. Ross, M. W. Lo, J. E. Marsden, D. Farrelly, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 11101-11104 (2002). See also Physical Review Focus article at: http://www.chem.wvu.edu/cjaffe/publications/focus_2002.pdf
8. "The Geometry of Reaction Dynamics", T. Uzer, C. Jaff, J. Palacian, P. Yanguas, and S. Wiggins, Nonlinearity 15, 957-992 (2002).
   This article was selected to appear on the journal's Highlights webpage at www.iop.org/journals/non/highlights.
9. "Impenetrable Barriers in Phase-Space", S. Wiggins, L. Wiesenfeld, C. Jaff, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5478-5481 (2001).
10. "Stochastic Ionization Through Noble Tori: Renormalization Results", C. Chandre, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. E 65, 26211-26214 (2002).
11. "From Asteroids to Atoms: Quantum Wavepackets and the Restricted Three-Body Problem of Celestial Mechanics", E. Lee, A. F. Brunello, C. Cerjan, T. Uzer, and D. Farrelly, in The Physics and Chemistry of Wave Packets, J. A. Yeazell, and T. Uzer, eds. (John Wiley, New York, 2000), pages 95-130.
12. "Synthesis of a Classical Atom: Wavepacket Analogs of the Trojan Asteroids", T. Uzer, E. A. Lee, D. Farrelly, and A. F. Brunello, Contemporary Physics 41, 1-14 (2000).
13. "Transition State Theory without Time-Reversal Symmetry: Chaotic Ionization of the Hydrogen Atom", C. Jaff, David Farrelly, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 610-613 (2000).
14. "Frequency Analysis of 3D Electronic 1/r Dynamics: Tuning Between Order and Chaos", Jan von Milczewski, David Farrelly, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 1436 (1997).
15. "Computation of the Arnol'd Web for the Hydrogen Atom in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields", J. von Milczewski, G. H. F. Diercksen, and T. Uzer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2890 (1996).
16. "Celestial Mechanics on a Microscopic Scale", T. Uzer, D. Farrelly, J.A. Milligan, P.E. Raines, and Joel P. Skelton, Science 253, 42 (1991).