Jun Ye

  • An optical lattice clock embedded in the curved spacetime formed by the earth’s gravity. Dynamical interplay between photon-mediated interactions and gravitational redshift can lead to entanglement generation and frequency synchronization dynamics.
    Researchers led by JILA and NIST Fellows and University of Colorado Boulder physics professors Jun Ye and Ana Maria Rey—in collaboration with scientists at the Leibnitz University in Hanover, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Innsbruck—proposed practical protocols to explore the effects of relativity, such as the gravitational redshift, on quantum entanglement and interactions in an optical atomic clock. Their work revealed that the interplay between gravitational effects and quantum interactions can lead to unexpected phenomena, such as atomic synchronization and quantum entanglement among particles.
  • A schematic of the deposition process, as thorium ions get vaporized then deposited in a thin film on the substrate's surface.
    Reported recently in a new study published in Nature, a team of researchers, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder Physics professor Jun Ye, in collaboration with Professor Eric Hudson’s team at UCLA’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, have found a way to make nuclear clocks a thousand times less radioactive and more cost-effective, thanks to a method creating thin films of thorium tetrafluoride (ThF4). 
  • JILA and NIST Fellow and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ physics professor Jun Ye has been awarded a 2024 Highly Cited Researcher status by Clarivate
    JILA and NIST Fellow and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ Physics Professor Jun Ye has been named a 2024 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate. This distinction is awarded to scientists whose work ranks in the top 1% of citations globally. Ye, known for his groundbreaking contributions to precision measurement and atomic, molecular, and optical physics, joins an elite list of researchers shaping the forefront of scientific innovation.
  • Photo of Jun Ye
    In a recently released NOVA documentary called "Decoding the Universe: Quantum," JILA and NIST Fellow and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ Physics Professor Jun Ye brings his expertise to the screen, unveiling the mysteries of quantum mechanics and atomic clocks.
  • JILA postdoctoral researcher Simon Scheidegger (right) stands with physicist Hugo Lehmann to receive the prestigious 2024 METAS Award
    JILA postdoctoral researcher Simon Scheidegger has received the prestigious METAS 2024 Award from the Swiss Physical Society (SPS). Scheidegger, who is part of JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye's laboratory group, was awarded for his pioneering research on precise measurements of hydrogen energy levels during his PhD at ETH Zurich.
  • Pulse sequences for generating two-axis twisting rotate the spins of KRb molecules, transforming the spin exchange interactions.
    The interactions between quantum spins underlie some of the universe’s most interesting phenomena, such as superconductors and magnets. However, physicists have difficulty engineering controllable systems in the lab that replicate these interactions.

    Now, in a recently published Nature paper, JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder Physics Professor Jun Ye and his team, along with collaborators in Mikhail Lukin’s group at Harvard University, used periodic microwave pulses in a process known as Floquet engineering, to tune interactions between ultracold potassium-rubidium molecules in a system appropriate for studying fundamental magnetic systems. Moreover, the researchers observed two-axis twisting dynamics within their system, which can generate entangled states for enhanced quantum sensing in the future.
  • Using an extremely high-powered laser, scientists can excite the thorium-229 nucleus, which is the core of a future nuclear clock.
    An international team of researchers, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder Physics Professor Jun Ye and his team, has made significant strides in developing a groundbreaking timekeeping device known as a nuclear clock
  • Photo of JILA postdoctoral researcher Jake Higgins
    JILA postdoctoral researcher Jake Higgins, part of JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye’s research group, has been awarded a coveted spot at the 2024 MIT Chemistry Future Faculty Symposium. This prestigious event will be held on August 12 and 13 on the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA, featuring some of the brightest early-career scientists poised to pursue academic careers.
  • JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye shows his experimental set up to Colorado Representative Yarida Caraveo during her visit to JILA
    On July 3, 2024, Colorado Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo delved into the quantum realm during her first official visit to ]JILA, a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder.
  • A look inside the optical atomic clock cavity, with the red light being a reflection of the laser light used in the optical lattice
    JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder Physics professor Jun Ye and his team at JILA, a collaboration between NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder, have developed an atomic clock of unprecedented precision and accuracy. This new clock uses an optical lattice to trap thousands of atoms with visible light waves, allowing for exact measurements. It promises vast improvements in fields such as space navigation, particle searches, and tests of fundamental theories like general relativity.
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