For the first lecture in the Fall Physics Colloquium Series, Chuankun Zhang, a graduate student from the University of Colorado Boulder's physics department and a researcher at JILA, delivered an insightful talk titled 鈥溾��.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a rare opportunity and a very special occasion for a grad student to present a talk at a physics colloquium,鈥� explained Zhang. 鈥淚 felt super excited. I think people enjoyed the talk and our research.鈥�
CU Boulder Physics professor and JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, a leading figure in quantum physics, hosted Zhang鈥檚 presentation. The talk discussed some of the groundbreaking research done by Zhang and other members of Ye鈥檚 thorium clock team, which was recently published as .
Zhang鈥檚 talk focused on the latest advancements in using lasers to measure and control the behavior of atoms, which is essential for studying critical quantum phenomena. He highlighted a significant breakthrough involving the thorium-229 nucleus, where the team used a highly specialized laser to examine nuclear energy levels with incredible precision for the first time. This measurement was achieved thanks to a cutting-edge tool, a laser frequency comb that works in a very short wavelength of light.
Zhang explained how he and the team precisely measured the thorium nuclear clock transition and connected it to the most accurate atomic clock in the world, which uses the element strontium-87. This connection between nuclear physics and precision timekeeping is not just an impressive scientific accomplishment鈥攊t could lead to new ways to test fundamental theories in physics. Additionally, it holds the potential to create extremely reliable timing devices that could be used in various important applications.
鈥淭his is just the beginning of this new field,鈥� Zhang added. 鈥淭here are many things that we can do now. We鈥檙e improving our laser to get an even better resolution on this newly found nuclear transition. We are also collaborating with different groups and trying other thorium samples to see how the different material changes the transition. We also closely work with theorists to interpret our data and its fundamental physics implications.鈥�