Atomic Physics
While optical clock technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, incorporating the technology into operational timescales has progressed more slowly. The highest accuracy frequency standards for groundbreaking measurements do not easily…
Neutral resonant states of molecules play a very important role in the dissociation dynamics and other electronic processes that occur via intermediate capture into these states. With the goal of identifying resonant states, and their…
This paper proposes a dual-color grating chip design method for simultaneously capturing dual atomic clouds (87Rb and 133Cs). By simulating key parameters such as the grating period, etching depth, duty cycle, coating material, and…
The sensitive axes of atom gravimeters are defined by the directions of the respective Raman lasers. Any tilt of the Raman lasers with respect to the vertical direction introduces errors in gravity measurements. In this work, we report a…
Coherent control of atomic and molecular scattering relies on the preparation of colliding particles in superpositions of internal states, establishing interfering pathways that can be used to tune the outcome of a scattering process.…
Thermal rate coefficients for some atomic collisions have been observed to be remarkably independent of the details of interatomic interactions at short range. This makes these rate coefficients universal functions of the long-range…
Excess "micromotion" of trapped ions due to the residual radio-frequency (rf) trapping field at their location is often undesirable and is usually carefully minimized. Here, we induce precise amounts of excess micromotion on individual ions…
We report the upgrade and operation of a frequency-comb-assisted high-resolution mid-infrared molecular spectrometer allowing us to combine high spectral purity, SI-traceability, wide tunability and high sensitivity. An optical frequency…
The 10-minute radiative lifetime of the first excited $^{229}$Th$^{4+}$ nuclear state in ionic crystals provides narrow spectroscopic linewidths, enabling the realization of a solid-state nuclear clock. Due to the 4+ noble gas…
We describe a three-dimensional (3D) magneto-optical trap (MOT) capable of simultaneously capturing 85Rb and 133Cs atoms. Unlike conventional setups, our system utilizes two separate laser systems that are combined before entering the…
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are renowned for their high brightness, significantly impacting biology, chemistry, and nonlinear X-ray optics. However, current XFELs are large, expensive, and exhibit significant shot-to-shot…
Positronium and muonium, as purely leptonic atoms without internal structure, provide ideal systems for high-precision tests of quantum electrodynamics (QED) and measurements of fundamental constants. However, the high velocities of these…
We implement the Fock-space perturbed relativistic coupled-cluster theory to compute the electric dipole polarizability of ground and low lying excited states, and nuclear spin-dependent parity violating (NSD-PNC) transition amplitudes in…
Nonlinearities in King plots (KP) of isotope shifts (IS) can reveal the existence of beyond-Standard-Model (BSM) interactions that couple electrons and neutrons. However, it is crucial to distinguish higher-order Standard Model (SM) effects…
Current state-of-the-art frequency standards are passive optical atomic clocks where the frequency of an optical resonator is stabilized to a narrow atomic transition. Passive clocks have achieved unprecedented stabilities of 6.6 x 10--19…
Optical clocks represent the most precise experimental devices, finding application in fields spanning from frequency metrology to fundamental physics. Recently, the first highly charged ions (HCI) based optical clock was demonstrated using…
We demonstrate laser cooling of barium monofluoride (138BaF) molecules. We use serrodynes to synthesize time-sequenced optical spectra that can be precisely tailored to the hyperfine structure of this heaviest non-radioactive alkaline earth…
Many experiments in atomic and molecular physics require simultaneous frequency stabilization of multiple lasers. We present a stabilization scheme based on a scanning transfer cavity lock that is simple, stable and easily scalable to many…
Currently, there is great interest in laser cooling of barium monofluoride (BaF) molecules for precision tests of fundamental symmetries. We use high-resolution absorption spectroscopy to characterize several as yet imprecisely known…
The population dynamics of the 229Th isomeric state is studied in a solid-state host under laser illumination. A photoquenching process is observed, where off-resonant vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) radiation leads to relaxation of the isomeric…