About the Thompson Group
Our lab explores two frontiers of quantum science: quantum simulation and quantum sensing. We do this in three different experiments using laser-cooled strontium and rubidium atoms trapped between highly reflective mirrors. Light-matter interactions create correlations and entanglement between thousands to millions of atoms. We use all aspects of quantum mechanics: unitary dynamics, the quantum measurement process, and dissipation. Explore the different projects below to learn more about dynamical phase transitions, entangled matterwave interferometers, and superradiant lasers.
Research Areas
Rb: Entanglement & Matterwaves
Learn how we create some of the most entangled states in the world and how we have realized first entangled matterwave interferometer that operates with a phase resolution below the Standard Quantum Limit
Sr: Continuous Superradiant Laser
Learn how we are working to realize an ultra-stable continuous superradiant laser for probing the universe more precisely.
Sr: Quantum Many-body Physics
Learn about our quantum many-body simulator realized by cavity-mediated interactions.
Stories About Our Research
B-C-S—Easy as I, II, III: Unveiling Dynamic Superconductivity
In physics, scientists have been fascinated by the mysterious behavior of superconductors—materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance when cooled to extremely low temperatures. Within these superconducting systems,…
Read MoreThe Tale of Two Clocks: Advancing the Precision of Timekeeping
Historically, JILA (a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder) has been a world leader in precision timekeeping using optical atomic clocks. These…
Read MoreEntangled Pairs Get Sensitive Very Fast
The best clock in the world has no hands, no pendulum, no face or digital display. It is made of ultra-cold atoms trapped by light. This atomic clock is so precise that, had it begun ticking when Earth formed billions of years ago, it…
Read More
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…
Read MoreRunning 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…
Read MoreA 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
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 MorePhases on the Move: A Quantum Game of Catch
The world is out-of-equilibrium, and JILA scientists are trying to learn what rules govern the dynamic systems that make our universe so complex and beautiful, from black holes to our living bodies.
Read MoreTwisting Atoms to Push Quantum Limits
The chaos within a black hole scrambles information. Gravity tugs on time in tiny, discrete steps. A phantom-like presence pervades our universe, yet evades detection. These intangible phenomena may seem like mere conjectures of science…
Read More
A Little Less Spontaneous
A large fraction of JILA research relies on laser cooling of atoms, ions and molecules for applications as diverse as world-leading atomic clocks, human-controlled chemistry, quantum information, new forms of ultracold matter and the…
Read MoreLassoing Colors with Atomic Cowpokes
Getting lasers to have a precise single frequency (color) can be trickier than herding cats. So it’s no small accomplishment that the Thompson group has figured out how to use magnetic fields to create atomic cowpokes to wrangle a…
Read MoreThe Quantum Identity Crisis
Dynamical phase transitions in the quantum world are wildly noisy and chaotic. They don’t look anything like the phase transitions we observe in our everyday world. In Colorado, we see phase transitions caused by temperature changes all…
Read More
Quantum Entanglement
The spooky quantum property of entanglement is set to become a powerful tool in precision measurement, thanks to researchers in the Thompson group. Entanglement means that the quantum states of something physical—two atoms, two hundred…
Read MoreThe Heart of Darkness
When the Thompson group first demonstrated its innovative “superradiant” laser the team noticed that sometimes the amount of light emitted by the laser would fluctuate…
Read MoreThe Entanglement Tango
Most scientists think it is really hard to correlate, or entangle, the quantum spin states of many particles in an ultracold gas of fermions. Fermions are particles like electrons (and some atoms and molecules) whose quantum spin states…
Read More
The Laser with Perfect Pitch
The Thompson group, with theory help from the Holland group, recently demonstrated a superradiant laser that escapes the “echo chamber” problem that limits the best lasers. To understand this problem, imagine an opera singer practicing…
Read MoreSayonara Demolition Man
The secret for reducing quantum noise in a precision measurement of spins in a collection of a million atoms is simple: Pre-measure the quantum noise, then subtract it out at the end of the precision measurement. The catch is not to do…
Read More
Research Highlights
B-C-S—Easy as I, II, III: Unveiling Dynamic Superconductivity
In physics, scientists have been fascinated by the mysterious behavior of superconductors—materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance when cooled to extremely low temperatures. Within these superconducting systems,…
Read More
The Tale of Two Clocks: Advancing the Precision of Timekeeping
Historically, JILA (a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder) has been a world leader in precision timekeeping using optical atomic clocks. These…
Read More
Entangled Pairs Get Sensitive Very Fast
The best clock in the world has no hands, no pendulum, no face or digital display. It is made of ultra-cold atoms trapped by light. This atomic clock is so precise that, had it begun ticking when Earth formed billions of years ago, it…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
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
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
Phases on the Move: A Quantum Game of Catch
The world is out-of-equilibrium, and JILA scientists are trying to learn what rules govern the dynamic systems that make our universe so complex and beautiful, from black holes to our living bodies.
Read More
Twisting Atoms to Push Quantum Limits
The chaos within a black hole scrambles information. Gravity tugs on time in tiny, discrete steps. A phantom-like presence pervades our universe, yet evades detection. These intangible phenomena may seem like mere conjectures of science…
Read More
A Little Less Spontaneous
A large fraction of JILA research relies on laser cooling of atoms, ions and molecules for applications as diverse as world-leading atomic clocks, human-controlled chemistry, quantum information, new forms of ultracold matter and the…
Read More
Lassoing Colors with Atomic Cowpokes
Getting lasers to have a precise single frequency (color) can be trickier than herding cats. So it’s no small accomplishment that the Thompson group has figured out how to use magnetic fields to create atomic cowpokes to wrangle a…
Read More
The Quantum Identity Crisis
Dynamical phase transitions in the quantum world are wildly noisy and chaotic. They don’t look anything like the phase transitions we observe in our everyday world. In Colorado, we see phase transitions caused by temperature changes all…
Read More
Quantum Entanglement
The spooky quantum property of entanglement is set to become a powerful tool in precision measurement, thanks to researchers in the Thompson group. Entanglement means that the quantum states of something physical—two atoms, two hundred…
Read More
The Heart of Darkness
When the Thompson group first demonstrated its innovative “superradiant” laser the team noticed that sometimes the amount of light emitted by the laser would fluctuate…
Read More
The Entanglement Tango
Most scientists think it is really hard to correlate, or entangle, the quantum spin states of many particles in an ultracold gas of fermions. Fermions are particles like electrons (and some atoms and molecules) whose quantum spin states…
Read More
The Laser with Perfect Pitch
The Thompson group, with theory help from the Holland group, recently demonstrated a superradiant laser that escapes the “echo chamber” problem that limits the best lasers. To understand this problem, imagine an opera singer practicing…
Read More
Sayonara Demolition Man
The secret for reducing quantum noise in a precision measurement of spins in a collection of a million atoms is simple: Pre-measure the quantum noise, then subtract it out at the end of the precision measurement. The catch is not to do…
Read More
In the Spotlight
February 27, 2024: JILA and the University of Colorado Boulder Lead Pioneering Quantum Gravity Research with Heising-Simons Foundation Grant
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The Heising-Simons Foundation's Science program has announced a generous grant of $3 million over three years, aimed at bolstering theoretical and experimental research efforts to bridge the realms of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with quantum gravity theories. Among the recipients, a notable grant was awarded to a multi-investigator collaboration spearheaded by the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) and JILA, a joint institute of CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
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December 30, 2020: Tyler McMaken, Ran Brynn Reiff, and Julia Cline all win 2020 CU Physics awards
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JILA graduate students Tyler McMaken, Ran Brynn Reiff, and Julia Cline all win the 2020 CU Physics Department TA awards
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August 26, 2020: New $115 Million Quantum Systems Accelerator to Pioneer Quantum Technologies for Discovery Science
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A new national quantum research center draws on JILA Fellows' and their expertise to make the United States an international leader in quantum technology.
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October 03, 2018: Three JILA Fellows named 2018 APS Fellows
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Three JILA Fellows have been named 2018 Fellows of the American Physical Society. The three new Fellows—Andreas Becker, Heather J. Lewandowski, and James K. Thompson—were nominated from varying divisions of APS. Andreas Becker was nominated by the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical physics for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of atoms and molecules in intense light fields, including seminal theoretical studies of attosecond dynamics, photoionization, complex electron dynamics in simple systems such as H2, and a better understanding of high-harmonic generation.
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JILA Address
We are located at JILA: A joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Map | JILA Phone: 303-492-7789 | Address: 440 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309