Novel two-dimensional (2D) atomically flat materials, such as graphene and
transition-metal dichalcogenides, exhibit unconventional Dirac electronic
spectra. We propose to effectively engineer their interactions with cold atoms
in microgravity, leading to a synergy between complex electronic and atomic
collective quantum phases and phenomena. Dirac materials are susceptible to
manipulation and quantum engineering via changes in their electronic properties
by application of strain, doping with carriers, adjustment of their dielectric
environment, etc. Consequently the interaction of atoms with such materials,
namely the van der Waals / Casimir-Polder interaction, can be effectively
manipulated, leading to the potential observation of physical effects such as
Quantum Reflection off atomically thin materials and confined Bose-Einstein
Condensate (BEC) frequency shifts.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; discussion and references adde