Atomic, Molecular, Optical Science

AMOS encompasses the research in
atomic, molecular, and optical science
at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

AMOS Research Areas

AMOS is a center for quantum physics with atomic, molecular, and optical systems, at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The center includes 15 research groups and activities ranging across most contemporary topics in AMO physics - from atto-second pulses and intense lasers, through precision spectroscopy of ultracold atoms, molecules or ions, to quantum information and quantum optics. AMOS members hold faculty appointments in both the Physics and Chemistry Faculties at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

A wide range of interests and scientific excellence contribute to making AMOS one of Israel's leading research centers. AMOS scientists publish annually numerous scientific manuscripts in leading journals.

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News

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Seminars

  • 04
    Feb 2025
    13:15

    Journal club

    Nitzan Kahn
    Shonfeld Asaf

    A Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit

    Nitzan Kahn

    Superconducting qubits are among the leading technologies driving quantum computer development. Their robustness and ability to precisely control photons in the microwave range have made them a popular choice for research groups and companies worldwide. However, their sensitivity to thermal noise necessitates the use of cooling systems that rely on rare and expensive helium-3. A recent advancement introduces superconducting qubits operating in the millimeter-wave range, around 100 GHz. These qubits are less susceptible to thermal noise, enabling operation at higher temperatures, up to 1 K, using simpler helium-4 cooling systems. This advancement bridges the gap between microwave and optical quantum technologies and opens new possibilities for quantum sensing, photon detection, and scalable quantum computing. This demonstration of controlled qubit dynamics, featuring Rabi oscillations and nanosecond-scale coherence times, can be compared to the performance of more established superconducting qubit designs studied by many groups, including those at the Weizmann Institute.

    [1] Alexander Anferov, Fanghui Wan, Shannon P. Harvey, Jonathan Simon and David I. Schuster (2024). A Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit. arXiv:2411.11170v1

     

    Review on quantum phenomena in attosecond science

    Shonfeld Asaf

    Attosecond science has revolutionized our ability to observe and manipulate ultrafast phenomena, capturing the dynamics of electrons in their natural time scale Traditionally, the high-harmonic generation (HHG) process and its resulting broadband XUV spectrum have been treated classically, justified by the high-intensity regime. However, recent theoretical advancements have unveiled intriguing quantum aspects of light at these extreme intensities. In my talk I would delve into ref. [1] which reviews the latest developments in quantum aspects of light of high intensity light-matter interactions such as HHG. The paper provides a comprehensive review of recent theoretical and experimental achievements, examining which findings demonstrate genuinely non-classical states and which can be interpreted through classical correlations. Moreover, I’ll review experimental signs for non-classical characteristics in HHG spectra, when driven or perturbed by bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) [2][3]. These findings suggest new approaches and future applications upon the current classical understanding of light-matter interactions, bridging between strong field physics and quantum optics.

    [1] Cruz-Rodriguez, L., Dey, D., Freibert, A., & Stammer, P. (2024). Quantum phenomena in attosecond science. Nature Reviews Physics, 1-14.‏

    [2] Lemieux, S., Jalil, S. A., Purschke, D., Boroumand, N., Villeneuve, D., Naumov, A., ... & Vampa, G. (2024). Photon bunching in high-harmonic emission controlled by quantum light. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.05474.‏

    [3] Rasputnyi, A., Chen, Z., Birk, M., Cohen, O., Kaminer, I., Krüger, M., ... & Tani, F. (2024). High-harmonic generation by a bright squeezed vacuum. Nature Physics, 1-6.

     

     

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  • 11
    Feb 2025
    13:15

    Searching for parity violation in trapped chiral molecular ions

    Prof. Yuval Shagam

    Searching for parity violation in trapped chiral molecular ions


    The weak force is predicted to break the parity symmetry between left and right-handed chiral molecules, but so far the effect has eluded detection. We are developing a trapped chiral molecular ion version of the search for parity violation (PV). Our candidate molecule, CHDBrI+ is predicted to exhibit a large PV shift of a few Hz for the C-H bend vibrational transition, where the transition’s natural linewidth is narrower than the shift.

     

    We plan to probe the PV signature in a racemic, mixed-handedness ensemble of trapped CHDBrI+, using vibrational Ramsey spectroscopy. Our newly developed ion trap is integrated with a pulsed velocity map imaging detector to probe multiple internal state populations of the molecules simultaneously by separating photo-fragment velocities. This technology will assist in overcoming the molecular complexity and help develop quantum control schemes and separation according to chirality methods for our molecule. We will discuss our progress toward creating cold CHDBrI+ by photoionization, a key ingredient in the implementation of the scheme and the current status of the experiment.

     

    We will also discuss the advantages of using chiral molecules in searches for hypothetical internuclear forces beyond the Standard Model.

     

    Erez et al. Phys. Rev. X 13, 041025 (2023)

    Landau et al. J. Chem. Phys. 159, 114307 (2023)

    Eduardus et al. Chem. Communi. 59, 14579 (2023)

    Baruch et al. Phys. Rev. Research 6, 043115 (2024)

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Publications

  • Programmable Quantum Simulations on a Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer with a Global Drive

    Shapira Y., Markov J., Akerman N., Stern A. & Ozeri R. (2025) Physical Review Letters.
    Simulation of quantum systems is notoriously challenging for classical computers, while quantum hardware is naturally well-suited for this task. However, the imperfections of contemporary quantum systems pose a considerable challenge in carrying out accurate simulations over long evolution times. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a method for quantum simulations on a small-scale trapped-ion-based quantum simulator. Our method enables quantum simulations of programmable spin-Hamiltonians, using only simple global fields, driving all qubits homogeneously and simultaneously. We measure the evolution of a quantum Ising ring and accurately reconstruct the Hamiltonian parameters, showcasing an accurate and high-fidelity simulation. Our method enables a significant reduction in the required control and depth of quantum simulations, thus generating longer evolution times with higher accuracy.

  • Operating a Multi-Ion Clock with Dynamical Decoupling

    Akerman N. & Ozeri R. (2025) Physical Review Letters.
    We study and characterize a quasicontinuous dynamical decoupling scheme that effectively suppresses dominant frequency shifts in a multi-ion optical clock. Addressing the challenge of inhomogeneous frequency shifts in such systems, our scheme mitigates primary contributors, namely, the electric quadrupole and the linear Zeeman shifts. Based on Sr+88 ions, we implement the scheme in linear chains of up to 7 ions and demonstrate a significant suppression of the shift by more than 3 orders of magnitude, leading to relative frequency inhomogeneity below 7×10-17. Additionally, we evaluate the associated systematic shift arising from the radio-frequency drive used in the QCDD scheme, showing that, in the presented realization, its contribution to the systematic relative frequency uncertainty is below 10-17, with the potential for further improvement. These results provide a promising avenue toward implementing multi-ion clocks exhibiting an order of magnitude or more improvement in stability while maintaining a similar high degree of accuracy to that of single-ion clocks.