Exploring the Frontiers of Physics
Research Highlights
- Using Ion Crystals to Simulate Superconductors
When a superconducting material is cooled down below a critical temperature, something seemingly magical happens: its electrical resistivity drops abruptly to zero! Initially, before 1911, this was thought to be impossible, given that…
Read More - Controlling a Quantum Classroom: New Insights into the Spin-Dynamics of Molecules
Quantum gases of interacting molecules can exhibit unique dynamics. JILA and NIST Physicist Jun Ye has spent years of research to reveal, probe, and control these dynamics with potassium-rubidium molecules. In a new article published in…
Read More - The Swirling Spins of Hedgehogs
Though microscopes have been in use for centuries, there is still much that we cannot see at the smallest length scales. Current microscopies range from the simple optical microscopes used in high school science classes, to x-ray…
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Research Highlights
- Using Ion Crystals to Simulate Superconductors
When a superconducting material is cooled down below a critical temperature, something seemingly magical happens: its electrical resistivity drops abruptly to zero! Initially, before 1911, this was thought to be impossible, given that…
Read More
- Controlling a Quantum Classroom: New Insights into the Spin-Dynamics of Molecules
Quantum gases of interacting molecules can exhibit unique dynamics. JILA and NIST Physicist Jun Ye has spent years of research to reveal, probe, and control these dynamics with potassium-rubidium molecules. In a new article published in…
Read More
- The Swirling Spins of Hedgehogs
Though microscopes have been in use for centuries, there is still much that we cannot see at the smallest length scales. Current microscopies range from the simple optical microscopes used in high school science classes, to x-ray…
Read More
- A Quantum Video Reel
When it comes to creating ever more intriguing quantum systems, a constant need is finding new ways to observe them in a wide range of physical scenarios. JILA Fellow Cindy Regal and JILA and NIST Fellow Ana Maria Rey have teamed up…
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- Defining the Limits of Quantum Sensing
There are many methods to determine what the limits are for certain processes. Many of these methods look to reach the upper and lower bounds to identify them for making accurate measurements and calculations. In the growing field of…
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- Atoms do the Twist
At ultra-cold temperatures, quantum mechanics dictate how particles bump into each other. The collisions depend both on the quantum statistics of the colliding partners (their location within the medium) and on their collisional energy…
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- Tackling the Sun’s Tachocline
Sitting 150 million kilometers away from the Earth, the Sun produces puzzling phenomena, like solar flares, that physicists are working to understand. One of these puzzles involves the Sun's tachocline, a belt of heat transition. “A…
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- How to Rebuild an Atomic Clock
Atomic clocks are crucial for everyday living as they help our telecommunications, electrical power grids, GPS systems, transportation, and other processes around the world keep precise time. Some of these clocks use lasers and special…
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- An Entangled Matter-wave Interferometer: Now with Double the Spookiness!
JILA and NIST Fellow James K. Thompson’s team of researchers have for the first time successfully combined two of the “spookiest” features of quantum mechanics to make a better quantum sensor: entanglement between atoms and…
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- A Magic Balance in Optical Lattice Clocks
Atomic clocks are essential in building a precise time standard for the world, which is a big focus for researchers at JILA. JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, in particular, has studied atomic clocks for two decades, looking into ways to…
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- Clearing Quantum Traffic Jams under the SU(n) of Symmetric Collisions
Of all the atoms that quantum physicists study, alkaline atoms hold a special place due to their unique structure. Found in the second column of the periodic table, these atoms have two outer electrons, allowing the atoms to interact…
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- Seeing Quantum Weirdness: Superposition, Entanglement, and Tunneling
Quantum science promises a range of technological breakthroughs, such as quantum computers that can help discover new pharmaceuticals or quantum sensors for navigation. These capabilities rest on two unusual properties of quantum…
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- Creating A Two-Step Dance for Lasers
Lasers have not only fascinated scientists for decades, but they have also become an integral part of many electronic devices. To create scientific-grade lasers, physicists try to control the temporal, spatial, phase, and polarization…
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- JILA and NIST Researchers Develop Miniature Lens for Trapping Atoms
JILA Fellow Cindy Regal and her team, along with researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), have for the first time demonstrated that they can trap single atoms using a novel miniaturized version of “…
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- A Look at Colorado's Quantum Revolution
More than 400 years later, scientists are in the midst of an equally-important revolution. They’re diving into a previously-hidden realm—far wilder than anything van Leeuwenhoek, known as the “father of microbiology,” could have…
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- Connecting Microwave and Optical Frequencies through the Ground State of a Micromechanical Object
The process of developing a quantum computer has seen significant progress in the past 20 years. Quantum computers are designed to solve complex problems using the intricacies of quantum mechanics. These computers can also communicate…
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- New Research Reveals A More Robust Qubit System, even with a Stronger Laser Light
Qubits are a basic building block for quantum computers, but they’re also notoriously fragile—tricky to observe without erasing their information in the process. Now, new research from CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards…
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- New Insights into Magnetic Fields of Red Dwarfs
Of the many different objects in the solar system, M-dwarf stars, also known as red dwarf stars, are of particular interest to astrophysicists. These small objects are the most common type of star in the universe and have unique…
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- A surging glow in a distant galaxy could change the way we look at black holes
An international team of astrophysicists, including scientists from CU Boulder, may have pinpointed the cause of…
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- Tweezing a New Kind of Qubit
JILA has a long history in quantum research, advancing the state of the art in the field as its Fellows study various quantum effects. One of these Fellowsis Adam Kaufman. Kaufman and his laboratory team work on quantum systems that are…
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- Ripples in Space-Time: Nano-Imaging Functional Materials at their Elementary Scales
Functional materials—like molecular electronics, biomaterials, light-emitting diodes, or new photovoltaic materials—gain their electronic or photonic properties from complex and multifaceted interactions occurring at the elementary…
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- An Atomic Game of Duck, Duck, Goose
Physics has always been a science of rules. In many situations, these rules lead to clear and simple theoretical predictions which, nevertheless, are hard to observe in actual experimental settings where other confounding effects may…
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- JILA and Cubit Partner with Key Quantum Companies for an Engaging Panel
Colorado has a reputation for being a quantum ecosystem hotspot and a recent panel discussion further bolstered this image. It was hosted by JILA, a world-leading physics institute created by a partnership between the University of…
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- Running in a Quantum Corn Maze and Getting Stuck in the Dark
Light is emitted when an atom decays from an excited state to a lower energy ground state, with the emitted photon carrying away the energy. The spontaneous emission of light is a fundamental process that originates from the…
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- Electrifying Molecular Interactions
Worldwide, many researchers are interested in controlling atomic and molecular interactions. This includes JILA and NIST fellows Jun Ye and Ana Maria Rey, both of whom have spent years researching interacting potassium-rubidium (KRb)…
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- The Prime Suspect: Hot Band Absorption
The hunt was afoot within the laboratory of JILA and NIST Fellow Ralph Jimenez as his team continued to unravel the mystery of entangled two-photon absorption. Entangled photons are pairs of light particles whose quantum states are not…
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- A Necklace Made of Doughnuts
Physicists develop some of the most cutting-edge technologies, including new types of lasers, microscopes, and telescopes. Using lasers, physicists can learn more about quantum interactions in materials and molecules by taking snapshots…
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- JILA Atomic Clocks Measure Einstein’s General Relativity at Millimeter Scale
JILA physicists have measured Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, or more specifically, the effect called time dilation, at the smallest scale ever, showing that two tiny atomic clocks, separated by just a millimeter or the…
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- Where Science Meets Art: A Mural on AMO Physics
JILA Fellow Cindy Regal has helped consult on a new mural placed in Washington Park in Denver, Colorado. The mural, titled Leading Light, loosely alludes to AMO physics…
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- A Look at She Has the Floor
When it comes to inspiring young people to pursue a career within the sciences, you can't start too early. At least, that's what the JILA Excellence in Diversity and Inclusivity (JEDI) group believed when they collaborated with the…
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JILA News
Upcoming Events
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Event Type: Virtual AMO Series
Speaker/Affiliation: Roee Ozeri / Weizmann Institute
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Event Type: Astrophysics & Planetary Sciences Colloquium
Location: JILA Auditorium
Speaker/Affiliation: Louise Edwards / California Polytechnic State University
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Event Type: Biochemistry Seminar
Location: JSCBB Butcher Auditorium
Speaker/Affiliation: Dr. Michael Laub / Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Event Type: Physics Department Colloquium
Location: JILA Auditorium
Speaker/Affiliation: Tiffany Shaw / University of Chicago
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.