Dr Gillian Peach
Emeritus Reader in Physics
Dept of Physics & Astronomy
Faculty of Maths & Physical Sciences
- Joined UCL
- 1st Oct 2001
Research summary
My research involves the theoretical study of atomic and molecular processes that occur in low-energy and ultracold physics and in stellar astrophysics. Current research topics include:
Ultracold collisions between atoms confined in traps,
Low-energy atom-atom collisions and applications to spectral line broadening,
Pressure broadening of spectral lines emitted in intense laser fields,
Polarization of radiation emitted by collisionally excited atoms,
The fundamental three-body problem: two-dimensional R-matrix methods for two-electron atomic systems.
This research programme is conducted in collaboration with research groups in the UK, Australia and France.
Biography
I was an undergraduate and postgraduate at Royal Holloway College, University of London (1954-1960) graduating with a B.Sc in Mathematics in 1957 and a Ph.D in Theoretical Physics in 1961. Having been a Research Assistant at UCL, 1960-1965 and a Research Associate, University of Maryland, 1965-1966, I have been at UCL from 1966 onwards. I have been on the Editorial Board of Journal Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics and am currently Co-Chairman of the working group on line broadening for Commission 14 of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).