Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $767,176 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Physics under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. The award funds experimental research into thermalization and relaxation dynamics in strongly interacting quantum systems. The project will utilize ultracold fermionic atoms with precisely controlled interactions to investigate how complex quantum systems evolve from far-from-equilibrium states toward thermal equilibrium. Key deliverables include experimental exploration of universal thermalization principles, investigation of whether short-time spectral properties predict long-time quantum equilibration outcomes, and systematic characterization of conditions under which full many-body quantum evolution reduces to simplified population dynamics. The research will establish experimental benchmarks for nonequilibrium quantum many-body physics and advance ultracold atomic platforms for quantum simulation applications.

The project includes significant workforce development components, with graduate students and undergraduates receiving training in state-of-the-art atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics techniques. Findings from this research will contribute to the national quantum information science initiative, particularly quantum simulation development. The research addresses fundamental questions at the intersection of quantum physics and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics with applications across quantum materials, mesoscopic transport, and statistical mechanics foundations.