IQIM Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Seminar

Abstract: Recent advances in optical atomic clocks have enabled frequency measurements beyond eighteen digits of accuracy. In addition to providing the backbone of the International System of Units, atomic clocks are powerful quantum sensors when applied to tests of fundamental physics including searches for ultralight dark matter and tests of general relativity. With the goal of further improving measurement precision, we have recently developed a quantum gas optical atomic clock capable of interrogating tens-of-thousands of atoms with optical coherence times exceeding 10 seconds.

In my talk, I will describe our recent investigation into a new systematic effect, a many-atom analogue to the Lamb shift, associated with the relatively high atomic density in the quantum gas. I will show that this "cooperative" Lamb shift can either be made large, or negligibly small compared to total systematic uncertainties of other state-of-the-art optical clocks, depending on exact details of the spectroscopic sequence and lattice geometry. Beyond informing future metrological applications, further studies of these interactions are expected to reveal a novel many-body system involving interacting spin-waves with non-trivial band-structures.

Lunch will be provided, following the talk, on the lawn north of the Bridge Arcade

Attendees joining in person must demonstrate that they comply with Caltech's vaccination requirements (present Caltech ID or AWS ID or vaccination and booster confirmation).