Atomic / Molecular / Quantum

News and Updates

Table in darkened lab holds wiring and other laser electronics; a circular light source is situated above.

Major Leap for Nuclear Clock Paves Way for Ultraprecise Timekeeping

These clocks could lead to improved timekeeping and navigation, faster internet speeds, and advances in fundamental physics research.

Anyone for Anyons?

Alejandra Collopy wears safety glasses as she works the lab. She is surrounded by various pieces of equipment and many hanging wires.

Spotlight: Alejandra Collopy and Atomic Clocks

Three qubits appear in an artist’s conception as X-shaped icons that fit together.

Novel ‘Quantum Refrigerator’ Is Great at Erasing Quantum Computer’s Chalkboard

Projects and Programs

Far-infrared Spectroscopy of Biomolecules (Archived)

Completed

We employ novel complimentary measurement and theoretical techniques to explore the low frequency intramolecular dynamics of model biological molecules including amino acids, short peptides with constrained structures, proteins with well-defined tertiary structures and DNAs. Our current efforts

Platform for Realizing Integrated Molecule Experiments (PRIME)

Ongoing

Blackbodies realize a clear relationship between radiated power and temperature through Planck’s law. While a reliable instrument for temperature and power calibrations, blackbodies are afflicted with a plethora of systematics (e.g., non-ideal emissivity, propagation loss, temperature gradients

Novel Sources for Focused-ion Beams

Completed

Commercial focused ion beams (FIBs) are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, they serve as diagnostic tools, slicing through a nanodevice to expose its internal structure. They can also shape nanoscale materials either by adding atoms to a structure or by shaving them off. And they

Atomic Wavefunctions

Ongoing

The numerical solution of the multi-particle Schrodinger equation describing atomic systems remains a challenging for computational physics. ITL scientists are in the forefront of this field with respect to extremely high-accuracy computation of non-relativistic eigenstates of few electron systems.