PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS: Check out our Research pages for virtual lab tours and more!
Our research focuses on using ultracold atoms, ultracold molecules, and light, to construct novel quantum mechanical systems, and then to use these systems to study fundamental quantum science, with applications towards chemistry, condensed-matter physics, many-body physics, material science, quantum information science, quantum and precision measurement, and quantum optics.
Our research presently spans three directions, making use of several laboratory setups that we identify numerically by the chronology of their birth: E3, E6, E8, and E9.
Quantum gases in optical cavities: By placing a quantum gas within a high-finesse optical cavity, we allow quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) to concentrate the optical interactions of atoms onto a single mode of the electromagnetic field. This construction enables high-sensitivity quantum measurements of the atomic system, control over dynamical effects of measurement backaction, and a means for atom-atom interactions mediated by the exchange of cavity photons. An existing completed apparatus (E3) and a next-generation setup under development (E6) use these conditions to study cavity opto-mechanics, cavity magneto-optics, and the application of coherent control, dissipation, and feedback in a many-body quantum system.
Quantum gases in geometrically frustrated optical lattices: Geometric frustration can drive many-body quantum systems toward non-trivial, highly entangled quantum states. In E9, we use a bichromatic optical lattice potential to produce a family of two-dimensional lattice geometries, including the kagome and trimerized kagome lattice, both of which are beset by geometric frustration. We are exploring the nature of strongly interacting gases within such lattices, working toward realizing topologically ordered phases of orbital motion and magnetism.
Quantum degenerate gases of transition metal elements: We have launched a new effort (E8) that aims to produce quantum degenerate gases with novel elements from the Periodic Table. Specifically, we target transition-metal atoms, having identified schemes for laser cooling. Bringing new elements to the ultracold regime will enable novel applications of ultracold atomic gases.
We are always on the lookout for excellent students, postdocs, and visitors to join our efforts. Feel free to peruse this website and then to contact us for more information. If you are an undergraduate student interested in performing research with our group, please check here for instructions on how to apply. You may also read through several review papers.
