From Classical to Quantum Solitons in Superfluids (SALMANH2_U26EMP)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 31 January 2026 for International, 31 March 2026 for Home
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Self-funded
- Start date
- 1 June 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
)
Welcome to Norwich
According to the Sunday Times, this city is one of the best places to live in the UK.
Project description
Primary supervisor - Dr Hayder Salman
Solitons are nonlinear waves that arise in diverse physical systems from water waves, where they provide idealised descriptions of tsunamis, to pulses in optical systems, and to nonlinear excitations in quantum fluids such as ultracold Bose gases. For Bose gases, the effective dimensionality of the system can be reduced to 1D through optical trapping techniques thus providing an ideal system to study the quantum analogue of these solitons. In contrast to the classical case, quantum solitons are the corresponding excitations in the many-body description of a quantum Bose gas. The correspondence between quantum and classical solitons has been considered previously in particular limiting cases [1,2]. However, a more general correspondence between the two cases has not been fully explored.
In this PhD project, you will use a combination of theoretical analysis of the many-body Schrödinger equation and numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation to study the dynamics of classical and quantum solitons. The aim is to uncover to what extent key properties of classical soliton interactions extend to the fully quantum regime.
As a PhD student you will use and develop numerical codes and perform detailed theoretical calculations. You should have a degree in physics, applied mathematics or equivalent and it is essential that you are comfortable working with computers and programming.
Entry requirements
The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1 in Physics, Physical Sciences, Natural Science, Mathematics.
Funding
This project is offered on a self-funding basis. It is open to applicants with funding or those applying to funding sources. Details of tuition fees can be found here.
A bench fee is also payable in addition to the tuition fee to cover specialist equipment or laboratory costs required for the research. Applicants should contact the primary supervisor for further information about the fee associated with the project.
UEA Alumni 10% Scholarships - A scholarship of a 10% fee reduction is available to UEA Alumni looking to return for postgraduate study at UEA, Terms and conditions apply. For a postgraduate master’s loan, visit our Postgraduate Student Loans page for more information.
References
[1] J. Sato et al., PRL 108, 110401 (2012)
[2] W. Golletz et al., Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 033368 (2020)