Atomic Physics
The first fully relativistic, rigorous QED calculations of the self-energy correction to the fine-structure levels of heavy muonic atoms are reported. We discuss nuclear model and parameter dependence for this contribution as well as…
The confined variational method in conjunction with the orthogonalizing pseudo-potential method and the stabilization method is used to study the low energy elastic scattering between two spin-polarized metastable positronium…
It is demonstrated that the fullerene shell affects dramatically the radiative and Auger vacancy decay of an endohedral atom A@C60. The collectivized electrons of the C60 shell add new possibilities for radiative and non-radiative decays…
Atom interferometry on optical clock transitions is being pursued for numerous long-baseline experiments both terrestrially and for future space missions. Crucial to meeting these experiments' required sensitivities is the implementation of…
We apply the ideas of effective field theory to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. Utilizing an artificial boundary of ignorance as a calculational tool, we develop the effective theory using boundary conditions to encode short-ranged…
We realize the first magneto-optical trap of an atom in main group III of the Periodic Table. Our atom of choice (indium) does not have a transition out of its ground state suitable for laser cooling; therefore, laser cooling is performed…
The water molecule occurs in two nuclear-spin isomers that differ by the value of the total nuclear spin of the hydrogen atoms, i.e., $I=0$ for para-H$_2$O and $I=1$ for ortho-H$_2$O. Spectroscopic transitions between rovibrational states…
The integration of cold atomic systems with optical nanofibres is an increasingly important experimental platform. Here, we report on the spectra observed during a strongly driven, single-frequency, two-photon excitation of cold rubidium…
Recent work with laser-cooled molecules in attractive optical traps has shown that the differential AC Stark shifts arising from the trap light itself can become problematic, limiting collisional shielding efficiencies, rotational coherence…
Electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) search using lasercoolable triatomics like YbOH is one of the most sensitive probes for physics beyond the Standard Model. The eEDM-induced energy shift is proportional to polarization ($P$) of the…
Einstein's theory of general relativity states that clocks at different gravitational potentials tick at different rates - an effect known as the gravitational redshift. As fundamental probes of space and time, atomic clocks have long…
We report laser cooling and trapping of yttrium monoxide (YO) molecules in an optical lattice. We show that gray molasses cooling remains exceptionally efficient for YO molecules inside the lattice with a molecule temperature as low as…
We theoretically investigate the laser cooling of fermionic barium monofluoride (137BaF) molecules, which are promising candidates for precision studies of weak parity violation and nuclear anapole moments. This molecular species features…
We report on a scheme for laser cooling of $^{12}$C$_2$. We have calculated the branching ratios for cycling and repumping transitions and calculated the number of photon scatterings required to achieve deflection and laser cooling of a…
Evolution time of a qubit under a Hamiltonian operation is one of the key issues in quantum control, quantum information processing and quantum computing. It has a lower bound in Hermitian system, which is limited by the coupling between…
We present the measurements of the photoionisation cross sections of the excited $^1$P$_1$ and $^3$S$_1$ states of ultracold $^{88}$Sr atoms at 389.889 nm wavelength, which is the magic wavelength of the $^{1}$S$_{0}$-${}^{3}$P${}_{0}$…
Time-resolved electronic processes on the attosecond scale have recently become experimentally accessible through the development of laser-based pump-probe interrogation techniques such as the attosecond streak camera, the reconstruction of…
A laser-atom interaction simulator derived from quantum electrodynamics (LASED) is presented, which has been developed in the python programming language. LASED allows a user to calculate the time evolution of a laser-excited atomic system.…
This work presents a theoretical analysis of the Autler-Townes splitting pattern in the four-wave mixing signal generated in a three-level cascade Doppler-broadened system. We employ the density matrix formalism to write the Bloch equations…
Experimental and theoretical results are presented for double, triple, and quadruple photoionization of Si$^+$ and Si$^{2+}$ ions and for double photoionization of Si$^{3+}$ ions by a single photon. The experiments employed the photon-ion…