Lab Members | JILA - Exploring the Frontiers of Physics

The Rey Group

Research Associate

Raphael Kaubruegger

Raphael.Kaubruegger@colorado.edu

I earned my B.Sc and M.Sc in Austria at the University of Innsbruck. During my master's program, I visited the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, where I conducted research on neural network-inspired variational wavefunctions for quantum many-body problems under the guidance of Prof. Jan Budich.

Subsequently, I started a Ph.D. at the University of Innsbruck and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) Innsbruck, supervised by Prof. Peter Zoller. My Ph.D. research centered on the application of variational quantum algorithms in the field of quantum metrology. The aim was to optimize parameterized quantum circuits for the generation of entangled states, such as squeezed states, and to enable measurements in an entangled measurement basis.

At the beginning of 2024, I joined Prof. Ana Maria Rey's group at JILA with the aim of developing innovative protocols for the quantum platforms being developed at JILA.

Dr. Miskeen Khan

Muhammad.Khan@jila.colorado.edu | 303-492-7141

I obtained my M.Phil (Electronics) at Quaid-i-Azam university, Pakistan. I further obtained my PhD (Physics) degree under the supervisions of Prof. José Tito Mendonça and Dr. Hugo Tercas in 2021 at Instituto Superior Técnico, university of Lisbon, Portugal. I also worked as a visiting PhD student in the group of Prof. Maciej Lewenstein at ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Spain.

During my PhD, I worked on theoretical modelling of various hybrid quantum devices that are mainly composed of the mechanical degrees of freedom. As such, I addressed the open system dynamics and the control of phonons while these are coupled to other quantum systems such as, light, atomic spin systems, and quasi-particle excitations.

Since October 2021, I joined Rey's group as a postdoctoral fellow. I am interested in the development of novel quantum devices that contribute in the developments of quantum technologies.

David Wellnitz

Dr. Tianrui Xu

tianrui.xu@colorado.edu | 303-492-7141

I received my B.Sc. in physics and mathematics at the University of British Columbia in 2016 and my M.A. and Ph.D. in physics at University of California at Berkeley in 2021, under the supervision of Prof. Joel E. Moore. I joined Prof. Rey’s group in fall, 2021.

My main research interest lies in quantum dynamics of correlated fermions. Before coming to JILA, I focused my research mainly on superconducting systems under mean-field approximation, both in- and out-of-equilibrium, as can be probed in ultrafast experiments. I have also explored some phenomena that are not specifically related to fermions, such as Anderson localization with long-range interactions and quantum chaos. My current research focuses on multilevel, many-body systems with SU(N) symmetry, as can be realized with fermionic alkaline-earth atoms in optical lattices and cavities. I am excited to explore the phases and dynamics emerging from such systems and their connections to solids.

Graduate Student

Sanaa Agarwal

Sanaa.Agarwal@colorado.edu

I graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) in Rajasthan, India with a double-major in Physics and Mechanical Engineering in 2019. I joined CU Boulder as a graduate student in 2019 and joined Prof. Rey's group in the summer of 2020. I am currently working towards understanding the effects of dipole-dipole interactions in multi-level atoms and drawing comparisons with the widely-studied case of two-level atoms in optical lattices. The understanding of light-matter interactions in these systems is pertinent to experiments involving alkaline-earth atoms with hyperfine levels and a degenerate ground-state manifold.

Edwin Chaparro

Anjun Chu

Anjun.Chu@Colorado.edu

I obtained my B.Sc. in physics at Tsinghua University in 2018, and subsequently became a Ph.D. student in the Rey Theory Group at the University of Colorado Boulder. My research interests are mainly in the realization and characterization of exotic quantum many-body phenomena in highly controllable ultracold atomic systems. I'm currently focusing on the non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum spin model based on trapped bosonic gas platform and photon-mediated interactions of alkaline earth atoms in optical cavity.

Yongju Hai

Yongju.Hai@colorado.edu

I received my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, and subsequently joined the group as a Ph.D. student in 2023 Fall.

My interest lies in the intersection of quantum information physics and its practical applications in AMO and solid-state systems. I am excited about the controllability and versatility offered by the cold atom system to uncover new insights into many-body phenomena and enable novel applications such as precision metrology. I am currently working on manipulating many-body dipole-dipole interactions in optical lattice clocks, aiming to understand and leverage their intricate effects.

Conall McCabe

Conall.McCabe@colorado.edu

I graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a B.A in Theoretical Physics in 2020, writing my thesis on solving spin systems using bethe ansatz methods. I obtained my M.Sc in Theoretical Physics from Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich in Germany. I wrote my master thesis in the group of Fabian Grusdt on a proposal to simulate lattice gauge theories using neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers. I joined the Rey group in the fall of 2023 as a PhD student.

My current research studies how the dynamics of multilevel atoms trapped in optical lattices can be used to improve metrological protocols through entanglement generation.

I am also interested in engineering qubit operations using the motional degrees of freedom of neutral atoms in optical tweezers.

Haoqing Zhang

Haoqing.Zhang@colorado.edu

I earned my B.Sc in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2020. Subsequently, I started my Ph.D in Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder in fall 2020, and joined Professor Rey's research group one year later. My research interests are centered around quantum simulation and meteorology utilizing highly tunable quantum many-body systems. Currently, I am focused on the Hamiltonian engineering of quantum spin models using matter wave interferometers with cavity QED systems.