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The Quantum Sciences and Technology Group is responsible for the development and
applications of instruments and techniques enabled by fundamentally quantum mechanical
processes. These include atom interferometry, quantum optics and laser cooling,
photonic and micro-photonic technologies, and cryogenic oscillators. Many of these
technologies are used in the development of clocks and oscillators with unparalleled
stability and low noise, including atomic clocks, opto-electronic oscillators (OEO’s)
and cryogenic sapphire oscillators (CSO’s). Others, such as the quantum gravity
gradiometer, use quantum effects to measure physical parameters with unparalleled
precision.
In addition to the study of these technologies, research in quantum optics,
atomic and fundamental physics are also underway. These studies include both
investigations of the fundamental physics that enables a technology, e.g. ultra-stable
operation of atomic clocks, as well as physics investigations made possible by the
technology, such as studies of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) and tests of the
Einstein Equivalence Principal (EEP).
The ultra-stable frequency technologies developed in the group are an essential
part of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), enabling accurate navigation of spacecraft
far from the earth's orbit. They also make possible many kinds of radio sciences,
from the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) that determines the exact position
of the earth's center, to measurements of the solar wind, and characterization of the
rings of Saturn. Future NASA missions are planned that will use the most stable
frequency standards to probe the structure of space-time itself.
The development of the atom wave interferometer for gravity gradiometry is aimed
at the realization of a capability for 3-D sub-surface imaging of Earth and planetary
bodies from space, such as mapping the ocean under the surface of the Jovian moon,
Europa. This technology is also the basis for the development of precision inertial
navigation instruments, and instruments to directly test the EEP.
The photonics and quantum optics research in the group is centered around linear
and nonlinear processes in atomic vapors, optical whispering gallery mode cavities,
and fibers and is the basis for the realization of novel architectures for future
communications, radar, and optical signal processing and computing.
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