Norcia, Matthew

Date:   Monday, August 12, 2019
Time:   11:00
Place:   ETH Zurich, Hönggerberg, HPF G 6
Host:    Jonathan Home

Superradiance and microscopic control with narrow-line transitions in strontium

Matthew Norcia
NIST, JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

Alkaline earth atoms like strontium have a rich internal structure, including optical transitions with narrow and ultranarrow linewidths. This enables a wealth of possibilities for precision metrology and quantum science. In this talk, I will present two experimental directions enabled by these transitions. First, I will present studies of superradiant emission from the 1 millihertz linewidth optical clock transition in an ensemble of strontium atoms confined within an optical cavity. This system holds promise as a new form of high-precision active optical frequency reference with the potential to operate outside of carefully controlled laboratory environments, and exhibits interesting interactions between atoms mediated by optical photons. I will then discuss recently demonstrated microscopic control of individual strontium atoms confined within optical tweezers. By combining the potential for flexible, low-entropy state preparation and high-fidelity, single-particle state readout associated with optical tweezers with the rich internal structure of strontium, this platform has promising applications for quantum simulation and metrology.