Quantum Optics

The basis of the extremely successful research of the quantum optics group is the close collaboration between theory (O. Kocharovskaya, M. O. Scully and M. S. Zubairy) on the one hand and experiment (E. S. Fry, G. R. Welch) on the other hand. This unique situation has enabled the faculty members to build a very visible, well funded research program. The quantum optics group has established long-term research collaborations with other departments of the university (Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering) and with leading research centers around the world both in the US (such as NIST, Boulder) and abroad (Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, and Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Munich). Due to this international climate in a highly productive environment, our graduate and post-doctoral students are extremely successful. They hold positions in the optical, semiconductor, and photonics industries, in management and consulting, in R&D laboratories, and as faculty at national and international universities. Most recent examples of the highly productive synergism are lasing without inversion, slow light (see figure, and non-linear spectroscopy in atomic vapors, as well as experiments on the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Over the past five years, atomic interference phenomena in radiation-matter interactions (such as lasing without inversion, electromagnetically induced transparency, resonant enhancement of the index of refraction, and slow light) have been one focus of the investigations of the quantum optics group. A key role in these phenomena is played by the interference of different absorption channels in atomic systems It leads to the unique physical characteristics of a phase coherent medium, which can be considered to be a new state of matter called phaseonium. These investigations, pioneered by the Texas A&M quantum optics group and by S. E. Harris of Stanford University's Applied Physics Department, form a fast developing field of theoretical and experimental research worldwide.

Other research interests of our group are molecular dynamics and coherent control of molecular reactions, laser control of nuclear transitions, fundamental tests of quantum mechanics, quantum computation, and trapping of neutral atoms and molecules. The long standing debate on local hidden variable theories and the completeness of quantum mechanics is addressed in a unique atom-based test (see figure) of the Bell inequalities that is capable of closing the loopholes associated with previous photon-based experiments.

We annually organize two conferences, the Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Eletronics and the Summer Quantum Optics Workshop. These conferences attract about two hundred of the most active scientists from all over the world and provide the opportunity to discuss twice per year the most recent advances in quantum optics and laser physics.