Research Highlights

  • The van der Waals universality is a sort of "sweet spot", a distance at which three atoms' interactions can be predicted with simpler two-body equations. The Cornell Group has found that distance may not be so universal after all, and that the species of atom may change聽that "sweet spot."
    Understanding how three atoms interact when they are close together is really tricky. For the past decade scientists agreed that there was a universal 鈥渟weet spot鈥�, a range called the van der Waals universality. In that range, three atoms were close enough that their interactions could be explained with simpler two-body formulas. But the Cornell Group at JILA is testing the limits of van der Waals universality, which could help form a better predictive model for other atom species.
  • Using Feshbach resonance, physicists have found that they can control聽a dynamical phase transition in an out-of-equilibrium state.
    For the first time, JILA scientists are able to observe dynamical phase transitions in an out-of-equilibrium system. They also found that they could undo the dynamical changes, reversing the experiment to where it started, which has great implications for understanding how the quantum world behaves and acts as a model for superconductors.
  • The Ye Group has developed a means to stabilize the laser in the optical atomic clock using a silicon cavity. They've achieved record stability with this technique.
    Using a new silicon cavity, JILA鈥檚 Ye Group has built a laser with improved coherence to reduce the noise in two optical atomic clocks and achieve record high stability. Improving atomic clocks鈥� stability is crucial to evaluating the clock accuracy and using these tools for scientific experiments in physics and other disciplines.
  • While we've known for a while that black holes could rip stars apart, we don鈥檛 know why these events occur so聽frequently. Now, a model by JILA researchers explaining this discrepancy is shown to be promising after passing its first reality test.
    While we've known for a while that black holes could rip stars apart, we don鈥檛 know why these events occur so聽frequently. Now, a model by JILA researchers explaining this discrepancy is shown to be promising after passing its first reality test.
  • A new technique from the Perkins group allows crisp, clear AFM images of DNA. The best part? It's ready聽in 5 minutes.
    Researchers at JILA have developed a fast, simple method to prepare samples that enhances DNA imaging. The results are so clear that the double-helix shape of DNA can be seen clearly.
  • The optical atomic clock in Jun Ye's lab can create cluster states in milliseconds, which is necessary for quantum computing.
    The holy grail of modern quantum science is to make a stable quantum computer. Now an experiment is on its way to create a quantum computer that is stable and can last longer using the sophisticated clock at JILA.
  • When a particle crosses the event horizon of a black hole, the quantum information of the particle is quickly scrambled and聽entangled.
    JILA researchers have proposed a simple experiment to realize and study rapid scrambling, the process by which quantum information spreads throughout a complex system and becomes inaccessible to simple local measurements, thus becoming apparently lost. Understanding rapid scrambling, as well as how it connects to chaos and entanglement, is key not only for building quantum computers but also for explaining open question about our universe such as the behavior of black holes and quantum gravity.
  • A photograph of an infrared "optical tweezers" device. Normally, the light from such lasers would be invisible to the naked eye
    Trapping single atoms is a bit like herding cats, which makes researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder expert feline wranglers. In a new study, a team led by physicist Cindy Regal showed that it could聽load groups of individual atoms聽into large grids with an efficiency unmatched by existing methods.
  • Using a new ultrafast electron calorimetry technique, JILA researchers in the Kapteyn-Murnane group discovered a new state in a standard material called tantalum diselenide.
    By using ultrafast lasers to measure the temperature of electrons, JILA researchers have discovered a never-before-seen state in an otherwise standard semiconductor. This research is the most recent demonstration of a new technique, called ultrafast electron calorimetry, which uses light to manipulate well-known materials in new ways.
  • Using a cantilever AFM (gray), JILA researchers are able to unfold and refold the HIV hairpin, a bend in the HIV RNA molecule which helps the virus take over the infected cell鈥檚 protein-making machinery.
    JILA researchers have demonstrated a much easier, faster and more precise way to understand the structure and function of the HIV RNA molecule, especially the HIV RNA hairpin. Furthermore, the techniques developed for this research promise to allow a wider range of users to study similar biological molecules, as they are built upon commercially available and user-friendly atomic force microscopes, or AFMs.
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