Boston Chapter of the IEEE Photonics Society

Abstract:  Improvement of spectroscopy resolution has been a constant drive behind many scientific and technological breakthroughs over the past century, including the invention of laser and the realization of ultracold atoms.  State-of-the-art lasers now maintain optical phase coherence beyond one second and this unprecedented spectral resolving power has been established across the entire visible spectrum and beyond, connecting to the frontiers of ultrafast science. This new capability in control of light has enabled us to create novel quantum matters via manipulation of dilute atomic and molecular gases at ultralow temperatures. A new generation of light-based atomic clocks has been developed, with an uncertainty reaching below 1 x 10-16, surpassing the Cs primary standard. Optical clocks now provide a unique opportunity for study of quantum many-body systems.

Biography:  Jun Ye is a Fellow of JILA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado.  He is also a Fellow of NIST, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.  His research focuses on the frontier of light-matter interactions and includes precision measurement, quantum physics and cold matters, optical frequency metrology, and ultrafast science and quantum control. He has co-authored over 260 technical papers and has delivered over 350 invited talks. Awards and honors include Frew Fellowship from the Australian Academy of Science, I. I. Rabi Prize from the American Physical Society, European Frequency and Time Forum Award, Carl Zeiss Research Award, William F. Meggers Award and Adolph Lomb Medal from the Optical Society of America, Arthur S. Flemming Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, U.S. Commerce Department Gold Medals, Friedrich Wilhem Bessel Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and Samuel Wesley Stratton Award from NIST.  The research group web page is http://jila.colorado.edu/YeLabs/.