Interactions can lead to ordering and synchronization in a range of physical systems, from the flocking of birds to the alignment of spin domains in magnets. Understanding the mechanisms for stabilizing or destabilizing synchronization and ordering is important in the classical world, e.g., for enhancing the stability of the electrical grid or for addressing breakdowns of social networks. In the quantum world, similar mechanisms can play a role in stabilizing ordered phases of matter. I'll describe a set of experimental systems -- active mechanical networks, atomic quantum gases, and Rydberg atom arrays -- that we use to study how interactions can lead to novel kinds of ordering and synchronization in many-body classical and quantum systems.
Bryce Gadway is a professor of physics at Penn State University who specializes in experimental atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. He received his B.A. in astronomy-physics from Colgate University in 2007, working with Enrique (Kiko) Galvez on table-top quantum optics experiments. He received his PhD in physics from Stony Brook University in 2012, working in the group of Dominik Schneble on ultracold atomic gases. From 2012-2014, Bryce was a National Research Council postdoctoral research fellow working in the group of Deborah Jin and Jun Ye at JILA (Boulder, CO) studying dipolar interactions in arrays of ultracold molecules. He started his own research group at the University of Illinois in 2014 and later joined Penn State University in 2023. His research group specializes in developing new experimental techniques for cold atoms and in active mechanical networks, using these systems to explore novel transport phenomena and collective effects.