Precision Measurement
A new national quantum research center draws on JILA Fellows' and their expertise to make the United States an international leader in quantum technology.
Famous thought experiment Schrödinger’s Cat posits that a quantum system can be in two opposing states simultaneously—a specific type of superposition. Creating cat states in a large number of atoms has been difficult for physicists. The Rey Theory Group has developed a new means of preparing these cat states in the state-of-the-art strontium optical atomic clock. Cat states could in turn improve the sensitivity of the clock beyond what is possible with independent atoms.
In the midst of a global pandemic, researchers and engineers find partnerships in unexpected places.
By using optical tweezers, the Kaufman and Ye groups are exploring a new kind of optical atomic clock—one that can run measurements for more than half a minute, an unprecedented coherence time. Not only does this finding open new possibilities for precision measurement, it’s a starting point to engineer interactions between many coherent and carefully-controlled atoms.
Mechanical oscillators are crucial to developing quantum computers and quantum networks, but they have to fight against noise. Measuring the quantum movement of the oscillator not only reduces its noise, it perfectly displays the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
We are organizing an upcoming workshop on optomechanical architectures for new physics searches through force signatures on scalable arrays of mechanical resonators.  The workshop is sponsored by an APS Moore Foundation Fundamental Physics convening award and co-sponsored by the JILA NSF Physics Frontier Center and JQI.Â
Using a new silicon cavity, JILA’s 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’ stability is crucial to evaluating the clock accuracy and using these tools for scientific experiments in physics and other disciplines.
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.
Microwaves report on the direction of a magnetic field! Our work on self-calibrated atomic vector magnetometry has been published in Phys. Rev. Lett. We show that a microwave polarization ellipse can be mapped with atomic transitions, and can serve as a useful three-dimensional reference. Our next step is to translate this idea to atomic vapor cells to make an atomic vector magnetometer that can calibrate itself at any time.
The chaos within a black hole scrambles information. Gravity tugs on time in tiny, discrete steps. A phantom-like presence pervades our universe, yet evades detection. These intangible phenomena may seem like mere conjectures of science fiction, but in reality, experimental comprehension is not far, in neither time nor space. Astronomical advances in quantum simulators and quantum sensors will likely be made within the decade, and the leading experiments for black holes, gravitons, and dark matter will be not in space, but in basements – sitting on tables, in a black room lit only by lasers.