JILA Auditorium

Abstract: Photosystems are protein complexes located in the thylakoid membranes of plants and other organisms and are the sites of the fundamental first steps of photosynthesis. In particular, Photosystem II (PSII) absorbs solar energy to catalyze the oxidation of water, generating oxygen as a byproduct. The photocatalytic reaction in PSII also initiates an electron transport chain and proton gradient, that results in the production of NADPH and ATP molecules.

Abstract: Laser-based measurement and control of atomic and molecular states form the foundation of modern quantum technology and provide deep insights to fundamental physics. The recent breakthrough of quantum-state-resolved thorium-229 nuclear laser spectroscopy marks the beginning of precision metrology for nuclear transitions. Using a state-of-the-art frequency comb in the vacuum-ultraviolet, we coherently excite the thorium nuclear clock transition and link its frequency directly to today’s most precise atomic clock based on strontium-87.

In this talk, I will describe my work on

Our group studies chemical reactions of ultracold Rb atoms in a state-to-state
resolved fashion, where we prepare reactants in well defined quantum states and
measure the quantum states of the molecular products. In particular, we focus on
three-body recombination where three atoms collide, forming a diatomic molecule.
The  third   atom carries  away  part  of  the  binding   energy.   We are  currently
investigating methods to gain control over this chemical reaction. By making use of

Note: Snacks will be provided.

Note: Feel free to bring your own lunch.

Abstract: Models of rotating black holes generally possess not only an event horizon, which marks the point of no return, but also an inner horizon, beyond which lies an observable singularity and potentially a wormhole to a new universe. However, if any matter or radiation falls into the black hole, these sources of accretion will trigger an instability that may destroy the inner horizon and anything beyond.

Streaming in the JILA Auditorium from 2024 DAMOP Session Y02 Hot Topics

Abstract: We observed a narrow (~100 kHz) 229Th nuclear clock transition in Th-doped CaF2 crystals using a VUV frequency comb. The VUV comb directly links the 229Th nuclear transition frequency to the JILA Sr optical clock, enabling determination of the absolute 229Th clock frequency. These results represent a milestone in building solid-state nuclear clocks for precision measurements and fundamental physics.

Chuankun Zhang is giving a talk tomorrow at DAMOP in the “Hot Topics” session and we are going to stream it here at JILA!