Exploring the Frontiers of Physics
Research Highlights
- Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse tours JILA
Last week, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse got a first-hand look at the future of ultrafast lasers, record-setting clocks, and quantum computers on the CU Boulder campus. Neguse visited the university Thursday to tour …
Read More - Atomic Musical Chairs
How atoms interact with light reflects some of the most basic principles in physics. On a quantum level, how atoms and light interact has been a topic of interest in the worldwide scientific community for many years. Light scattering is…
Read More - A Magic Recipe for a Quantum Interferometer
Gravimetry, or the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field (or gravitational acceleration), has been of great interest to physicists since the 1600s. One of the most precise ways to measure gravitational acceleration is to…
Read More
- Message Received: Studying Quantum Channels
Physicists study many forms of communication, including quantum communication. Thanks to specific properties of quantum mechanics, like entanglement, information integrity can be better maintained with quantum communications, even being…
Read More - Gravitational ‘kick’ may explain the strange shape at the center of Andromeda
When two galaxies collide, the supermassive black holes at their cores release a devastating gravitational “kick,” similar to the recoil from a shotgun. New research led by CU Boulder suggests that this kick may be so powerful it can…
Read More - Help Wanted: How to Build a Prepared and Diverse Quantum Workforce
The second quantum revolution is underway, a period marked by significant advances in quantum technology, and huge discoveries within quantum science. From tech giants like Google and IBM, who build their own quantum computers, to…
Read More
- The Mystery of Black Hole Flares
In 2019, a team of researchers used an international network of radio telescopes—called the Event Horizon Telescope—to take the first photo of a supermassive black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). On that…
Read More - Don’t React, Interact: Looking Into Inert Molecular Gases
One of the major strengths of JILA are the frequent and ongoing collaborations between experimentalists and theorists, which have led to incredible discoveries in physics. One of these partnerships is between JILA Fellow John Bohn and…
Read More - When Breath Becomes Data
There are many ways to diagnose health conditions. One of the most common methods is blood testing. This sort of test can look for hundreds of different kinds of molecules in the body to determine if an individual has any diseases or…
Read More
- Seeing with the “Nano” Eye
Understanding the chemical and physical properties of surfaces at the molecular level has become increasingly relevant in the fields of medicine, semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, etc. For example, when developing new medications…
Read More - From Liquid to Gas: A Way to study BEC
The Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) has been studied for decades, ever since its prediction by scientists Satyandra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein nearly 100 years ago. The BEC is a gas of atoms cooled to almost absolute zero. At low…
Read More - Microscopic Heat Transport
Two new papers from the Murnane and Kapteyn group are changing the way heat transport is viewed on a nanoscale, and explain the group’s surprising finding that nanoscale heat transport can be far more efficient than originally thought.…
Read More
- Laser Cavities and the Quest for the Holy Grail
Atomic clocks have been heavily studied by physicists for decades. The way these clocks work is by having atoms, such as rubidium or cesium, that are "ticking" (that is, oscillating) between two quantum states. As such, atomic clocks…
Read More - From Plane Propellers to Helicopter Rotors
For laser science, one major goal is to achieve full control over the spatial, temporal and polarization properties of light, and to learn how to precisely manipulate these properties. A property of light is called the Orbital Angular…
Read More - Overcoming Camera Blur
The basic question of how strands of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) fold and hybridize has been studied thoroughly by biophysicists around the globe. In particular, there can be unexpected challenges in obtaining accurate kinetic data when…
Read More
- NIST’s Quantum Crystal Could Be a New Dark Matter Sensor
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have linked together, or “entangled,” the mechanical motion and electronic properties of a tiny blue crystal, giving it a quantum edge in measuring electric fields…
Read More - Reconstructing Laser Pulses
Many physicists use lasers to study quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular physics and nanophysics. While these lasers can be helpful in the research process, there are certain constraints for the researcher. According to JILA Fellow…
Read More - The Atomic Trampoline
The process of creating spin-polarized electrons has been studied for some time but continues to surprise physicists. These types of electrons have their spin aligned in a specific direction. The probability of creating a spin-polarized…
Read More
- Wiggles in Time: The Search for Dark Matter Continues
In a new paper published in Physical Review Letters, JILA and NIST Fellows Eric Cornell, Jun Ye, and Konrad Lehnert developed a method for measuring a potential dark matter candidate, known as an axion-like particle. Axion-like…
Read More - Galaxy Quest: Stellar Bars and Dark Halos
When it comes to galaxies in our universe, there is still much work to do. Part of this work is being done by JILA Fellow and Assistant Professor of Astrophysics, Ann-Marie Madigan, and postdoc Dr. Angela Collier. In a paper recently…
Read More - The Case of the Missing Signal
Most researchers would agree that it is much easier to write a paper about an observed effect than a paper proving the nonexistence of the effect when it is not observed. NIST JILA Fellow Ralph Jimenez found this to be the case in…
Read More
- The Gap in Quantum Understanding: How to Accurately Communicate Quantum Ideas
The word “quantum” can be mysterious and unfamiliar to the general public. Most of the public’s exposure to quantum technology has been Hollywoodized and framed as a “catch-all” for hard-to-define scientific processes. This…
Read More - BCS: Building a Cavity Superconductor
The idea of quantum simulation has only become more widely researched in the past few decades. Quantum simulators allow for the study of a quantum system that would be difficult to study easily and quickly in a laboratory or model with…
Read More - Scientists Dig Deeper into Subject of First-Ever Image of a Black Hole
JILA Fellow Jason Dexter works with the Event Horizon Team to further study the first photograph ever taken of a black hole.
Read More
- NIST Team Compares 3 Top Atomic Clocks With Record Accuracy Over Both Fiber and Air
In a significant advance toward the future redefinition of the international unit of time, the second, a research team led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has compared three of the world’s leading atomic…
Read More - The Forces involved in Folding Proteins
In a new paper, JILA physicist Thomas Perkins collaborated with CU Biochemistry Prof. Marcello Sousa to dissect the mechanisms of how certain bacteria become more virulent. The research brings together the Perkins lab expertise in…
Read More - Highlighting the Research Centers within JILA
JILA is the host of multiple centers within its campus. Some are National Science Foundation (NSF) funded and others funded by more private centers. Each center focuses on specific topics to advance the knowledge, education, and…
Read More
- Molecules in Flat Lands: an Entanglement Paradise
Entangled particles have always fascinated physicists, as measuring one entangled particle can result in a change in another entangled particle, famously dismissed as “spooky action at a distance” by Einstein. By now, physicists…
Read More - Using Quantum Knots to Build a Secure Internet
When looking within a quantum internet, the Sun Lab is looking at specifically photons. By entangling these photons, scientists tie little quantum knots between them, so they jointly represent the information to be delivered. The…
Read More - Scientists develop new, faster method for seeking out dark matter
For nearly a century, scientists have worked to unravel the mystery of dark matter—an elusive substance that spreads through the universe and likely makes up much of its mass, but has so far proven impossible to detect in experiments.…
Read More
Research Highlights
- Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse tours JILA
Last week, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse got a first-hand look at the future of ultrafast lasers, record-setting clocks, and quantum computers on the CU Boulder campus. Neguse visited the university Thursday to tour …
Read More
- Atomic Musical Chairs
How atoms interact with light reflects some of the most basic principles in physics. On a quantum level, how atoms and light interact has been a topic of interest in the worldwide scientific community for many years. Light scattering is…
Read More
- A Magic Recipe for a Quantum Interferometer
Gravimetry, or the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field (or gravitational acceleration), has been of great interest to physicists since the 1600s. One of the most precise ways to measure gravitational acceleration is to…
Read More
- Message Received: Studying Quantum Channels
Physicists study many forms of communication, including quantum communication. Thanks to specific properties of quantum mechanics, like entanglement, information integrity can be better maintained with quantum communications, even being…
Read More
- Gravitational ‘kick’ may explain the strange shape at the center of Andromeda
When two galaxies collide, the supermassive black holes at their cores release a devastating gravitational “kick,” similar to the recoil from a shotgun. New research led by CU Boulder suggests that this kick may be so powerful it can…
Read More
- Help Wanted: How to Build a Prepared and Diverse Quantum Workforce
The second quantum revolution is underway, a period marked by significant advances in quantum technology, and huge discoveries within quantum science. From tech giants like Google and IBM, who build their own quantum computers, to…
Read More
- The Mystery of Black Hole Flares
In 2019, a team of researchers used an international network of radio telescopes—called the Event Horizon Telescope—to take the first photo of a supermassive black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). On that…
Read More
- Don’t React, Interact: Looking Into Inert Molecular Gases
One of the major strengths of JILA are the frequent and ongoing collaborations between experimentalists and theorists, which have led to incredible discoveries in physics. One of these partnerships is between JILA Fellow John Bohn and…
Read More
- When Breath Becomes Data
There are many ways to diagnose health conditions. One of the most common methods is blood testing. This sort of test can look for hundreds of different kinds of molecules in the body to determine if an individual has any diseases or…
Read More
- Seeing with the “Nano” Eye
Understanding the chemical and physical properties of surfaces at the molecular level has become increasingly relevant in the fields of medicine, semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, etc. For example, when developing new medications…
Read More
- From Liquid to Gas: A Way to study BEC
The Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) has been studied for decades, ever since its prediction by scientists Satyandra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein nearly 100 years ago. The BEC is a gas of atoms cooled to almost absolute zero. At low…
Read More
- Microscopic Heat Transport
Two new papers from the Murnane and Kapteyn group are changing the way heat transport is viewed on a nanoscale, and explain the group’s surprising finding that nanoscale heat transport can be far more efficient than originally thought.…
Read More
- Laser Cavities and the Quest for the Holy Grail
Atomic clocks have been heavily studied by physicists for decades. The way these clocks work is by having atoms, such as rubidium or cesium, that are "ticking" (that is, oscillating) between two quantum states. As such, atomic clocks…
Read More
- From Plane Propellers to Helicopter Rotors
For laser science, one major goal is to achieve full control over the spatial, temporal and polarization properties of light, and to learn how to precisely manipulate these properties. A property of light is called the Orbital Angular…
Read More
- Overcoming Camera Blur
The basic question of how strands of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) fold and hybridize has been studied thoroughly by biophysicists around the globe. In particular, there can be unexpected challenges in obtaining accurate kinetic data when…
Read More
- NIST’s Quantum Crystal Could Be a New Dark Matter Sensor
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have linked together, or “entangled,” the mechanical motion and electronic properties of a tiny blue crystal, giving it a quantum edge in measuring electric fields…
Read More
- Reconstructing Laser Pulses
Many physicists use lasers to study quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular physics and nanophysics. While these lasers can be helpful in the research process, there are certain constraints for the researcher. According to JILA Fellow…
Read More
- The Atomic Trampoline
The process of creating spin-polarized electrons has been studied for some time but continues to surprise physicists. These types of electrons have their spin aligned in a specific direction. The probability of creating a spin-polarized…
Read More
- Wiggles in Time: The Search for Dark Matter Continues
In a new paper published in Physical Review Letters, JILA and NIST Fellows Eric Cornell, Jun Ye, and Konrad Lehnert developed a method for measuring a potential dark matter candidate, known as an axion-like particle. Axion-like…
Read More
- Galaxy Quest: Stellar Bars and Dark Halos
When it comes to galaxies in our universe, there is still much work to do. Part of this work is being done by JILA Fellow and Assistant Professor of Astrophysics, Ann-Marie Madigan, and postdoc Dr. Angela Collier. In a paper recently…
Read More
- The Case of the Missing Signal
Most researchers would agree that it is much easier to write a paper about an observed effect than a paper proving the nonexistence of the effect when it is not observed. NIST JILA Fellow Ralph Jimenez found this to be the case in…
Read More
- The Gap in Quantum Understanding: How to Accurately Communicate Quantum Ideas
The word “quantum” can be mysterious and unfamiliar to the general public. Most of the public’s exposure to quantum technology has been Hollywoodized and framed as a “catch-all” for hard-to-define scientific processes. This…
Read More
- BCS: Building a Cavity Superconductor
The idea of quantum simulation has only become more widely researched in the past few decades. Quantum simulators allow for the study of a quantum system that would be difficult to study easily and quickly in a laboratory or model with…
Read More
- Scientists Dig Deeper into Subject of First-Ever Image of a Black Hole
JILA Fellow Jason Dexter works with the Event Horizon Team to further study the first photograph ever taken of a black hole.
Read More
- NIST Team Compares 3 Top Atomic Clocks With Record Accuracy Over Both Fiber and Air
In a significant advance toward the future redefinition of the international unit of time, the second, a research team led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has compared three of the world’s leading atomic…
Read More
- The Forces involved in Folding Proteins
In a new paper, JILA physicist Thomas Perkins collaborated with CU Biochemistry Prof. Marcello Sousa to dissect the mechanisms of how certain bacteria become more virulent. The research brings together the Perkins lab expertise in…
Read More
- Highlighting the Research Centers within JILA
JILA is the host of multiple centers within its campus. Some are National Science Foundation (NSF) funded and others funded by more private centers. Each center focuses on specific topics to advance the knowledge, education, and…
Read More
- Molecules in Flat Lands: an Entanglement Paradise
Entangled particles have always fascinated physicists, as measuring one entangled particle can result in a change in another entangled particle, famously dismissed as “spooky action at a distance” by Einstein. By now, physicists…
Read More
- Using Quantum Knots to Build a Secure Internet
When looking within a quantum internet, the Sun Lab is looking at specifically photons. By entangling these photons, scientists tie little quantum knots between them, so they jointly represent the information to be delivered. The…
Read More
- Scientists develop new, faster method for seeking out dark matter
For nearly a century, scientists have worked to unravel the mystery of dark matter—an elusive substance that spreads through the universe and likely makes up much of its mass, but has so far proven impossible to detect in experiments.…
Read More
In the Spotlight
Opportunities at JILA
JILA is interested in hiring and training the world's leading scientists. If you are interested in undergraduate or graduate-level opportunities, please visit the Prospective Students page. For Postdoctoral research opportunities, information can be found on the Postdoctoral Students page. Distinguished scientists who wish to collaborate with JILA researchers will find opportunities and information at our Visiting JILA Fellows page. Interested in JILA scientific support opportunities? More information is available on our Job Opportunities page.