Physics
Molecular magneto-optical traps (MOTs) typically capture orders of magnitude fewer particles than their atomic counterparts due in part to their significantly lower capture velocities. Here, we employ a Stochastic Schr\"odinger Equation…
We propose and demonstrate a dynamical mirror compensation scheme to restore velocity immunity in a large-area dual-atom-interferometer gyroscope. In an ideal Mach-Zehnder configuration, the phase shift is inherently immune to atomic…
We report laser-induced-fluorescence spectroscopy of the \({}^{1}S_{0}\rightarrow{}^{3}P_{1}\) intercombination transition in neutral zinc at \(307.6~\mathrm{nm}\). Isotope shifts are measured for all stable isotopes with kHz-level…
Ethanol is conventionally perceived only as a pungent tastant, while the potential sweet properties of ethanol clusters have remained unrecognized. Here we show that ethanol tetramers exhibit a unique time dependent lingering sweetness,…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous plasma phenomenon that plays a critical role in particle heating and energization. During reconnection, the topology of magnetic field rearranges, depositing energy into the surrounding plasma through…
We investigate the February 19, 2025, re-entry of a Falcon 9 upper stage using optical observations from 43 meteor cameras across central Europe together with radar detections of re-entry plasma obtained with the 32.55 MHz SIMONe Germany…
Some optical measurements require relative timing of intensity variations with accuracy much finer than the camera frame period. One motivating example is dynamic aurora, where different prompt emissions are expected to originate from…
Standing light waves structure the electronic density of a Rydberg atom in a rich but surprisingly systematic fashion. We uncover these systematics, which are nearly universal across a large range of principal quantum numbers n, by varying…
Optical cycling refers to repeated excitation and spontaneous emission on an electronic transition in an atom or molecule. Optical cycling in molecules can enable a wide range of quantum control and readout techniques, but unfortunately it…
Forbidden atomic transitions provide some of the most stringent low-energy tests of physics beyond the Standard Model, with sensitivity set by the interplay between the sought-for signals and systematics suppressed by symmetry. Here we…
The well-known graphical representation called the Lu-Fano plot was originally developed for multi-channel Rydberg spectroscopy, especially in quantum defect theory. The present study shows some of the limitations of this traditional…
We investigate the fragmentation dynamics of methane dication (CH$_4^{2+}$) produced in collisions with 50-MeV C$^{6+}$ ions using the COLTRIMS technique. The method provides complete three-dimensional momentum vectors of the charged…
Measurements of interplanetary magnetic fields have long relied on spacecraft measurements, which provide only in-situ sampling and therefore cannot capture the global magnetic structure. Faraday rotation of radio signals extends in-situ…
Strong-field enhanced ionization (EI) is a phenomenon in which stretching of interatomic bonds into a distorted molecular geometry leads to an increase in the tunneling ionization rate driven by a strong field. Isolating the momentum…
We present a theoretical description of atomic strong-field photoionization. Specifically, we consider an atom driven by a combination of two electromagnetic fields: a high-frequency field assisted by an intense, low-frequency laser. We…
The natural electromagnetic modes spontaneously emitted by an atom in free space are spherical vector waves (SVWs). Each SVW mode is uniquely linked to a specific dynamical--spherical--multipole--moment of the atomic system. In this work,…
Optical tweezers are a powerful tool for creating defect-free arrays of atoms and molecules, enabling advances in quantum simulation, computation, and precision metrology. However, the achievable array size is limited by the initial loading…
Laser cooling and trapping of atomic matter waves in optical potentials has enabled rapid progress in quantum science, particularly when combined with Rydberg excitation of the atoms to induce long-range interactions. Here, we propose the…
We measured the hyperfine structure constants, $A(3s^2S_{1/2})$ and $A(3p^2P_{1/2})$, of the neutron-deficient isotope $^{21}\text{Na}$ using CLaSsy, a setup dedicated to collinear laser spectroscopy at RAON. The hyperfine structure…
The continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model is one of the most promising approaches to address the wave function collapse problem in the measurement process of standard quantum mechanics. In this work, the effect of the CSL model on…