Kapteyn (with Murnane) develops ultrafast lasers and high-harmonic-generation EUV/soft-X-ray sources enabling attosecond metrology and tabletop coherent diffractive/ptychographic imaging with nanoscale spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution for imaging materials and nanoscale dynamics. For context, this complements the established paradigm of NV-diamond ensemble magnetometry (Hahn-echo/DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/√Hz sensitivity.
Jean-Philippe Karr's trapped-ions group at LKB performs precision spectroscopy of molecular ions (HD+, H2+) to test quantum electrodynamics and determine fundamental constants. Research: (1) laser spectroscopy of HD+ molecular ions in ion traps for proton-electron mass ratio determination; (2) tests of quantum electrodynamics in simple molecular systems; (3) search for physics beyond the standard model via precision measurement. Published in Physics (April 2026) on simplest molecules testing quantum theory.
Kaufman's group builds programmable optical-tweezer arrays of alkaline-earth atoms (Sr/Yb) that unite atomic-clock precision with entanglement and many-body control, demonstrating tweezer-array optical clocks and entanglement-enhanced metrology. For context, this complements the established paradigm of NV-diamond ensemble magnetometry (Hahn-echo/DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/√Hz sensitivity.
Kolkowitz's group builds ultra-precise strontium optical lattice clocks for differential clock comparisons and fundamental-physics tests, and separately pioneered scanning single-NV magnetometry for imaging nanoscale current and spin transport in quantum materials. This combination of atomic-clock and solid-state defect-spin sensing places the group's diamond work squarely alongside the broader NV ensemble sensing literature (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that has achieved pT/sqrt(Hz)-class field sensitivities; the lab is actively recruiting postdocs in both directions.
The Kovachy Group applies quantum wave properties of ultracold atoms to precision sensing. Primary focus: (1) Advanced large-momentum-transfer (LMT) atom interferometer pulse sequences using Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations to achieve record momentum splits of 100s of ℏk, enhancing sensitivity for fundamental physics tests; (2) MAGIS-100 collaboration — the 100 m-tall atom interferometer at Fermilab targeting gravitational waves in the mid-band complementary to LIGO/LISA, dark matter field searches, and tests of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales; (3) Search for deviations from Newtonian gravity at micrometer range using atom-interferometric force sensing, and a new measurement of Newton's gravitational constant G; (4) Cryogenic optical cavity dark matter search (with Gabrielse and Geraci groups). David and Lucile Packard Fellow (2020), Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award 2020, NIST Precision Measurement Grant 2019. Member of CFP Northwestern and CIERA.
Thierry Lahaye (CNRS DR, LCF/IOGS) co-leads the quantum optics atoms group with Browaeys and Ferrier-Barbut. Research: (1) Rydberg atom tweezer arrays for quantum simulation of many-body spin Hamiltonians; (2) dipole-dipole interaction physics with Rydberg atoms; (3) cryogenic tweezer arrays (2000-site rearrangement at 4K, PRApplied 2024). Key architect of Pasqal's quantum computing platform.
Arnaud Landragin (CNRS DR, SYRTE) is director of the cold-atom inertial sensors team and one of the world's leading experts in quantum gravimeters and gyroscopes. Research: (1) GIRAFE transportable cold-atom gravimeter for marine and airborne campaigns; (2) QAFCA project (PEPR Quantique) for gravity sensors for geoscience and navigation; (3) ESA ODIN ultra-high performance gyroscope for space. CNRS Innovation Medal 2020. Co-authored key reviews on cold-atom inertial sensors.
Landragin directs SYRTE and its Cold Atom Interferometry and Inertial Sensors team, which develops light-pulse atom interferometers as absolute gravimeters and gyroscopes: the Cold Atom Gravimeter (CAG), whose single-laser pyramid-reflector design he co-invented and commercialized through the start-up Muquans (now Absolute Quantum Gravimeter, AQG), and continuously-operating cold-atom gyroscopes reaching record joint sensitivity. Applications span geodesy, hydrology, volcano monitoring and inertial navigation. He received the CNRS Innovation Medal in 2020.
Le Targat co-leads SYRTE's Optical Frequency Metrology team, which built and continuously operates two independent strontium optical lattice clocks alongside a mercury lattice clock, comparing them at the 10^-16 to 10^-17 level and to SYRTE's caesium fountain primary standards. This work underpins the prospective redefinition of the SI second on an optical transition and supports frequency-transfer, geodesy and fundamental-physics tests via fiber links to other French metrology laboratories.
Levine builds neutral-atom tweezer-array and superconducting-qubit platforms for quantum computing, quantum error correction, and quantum sensing, aiming to combine the programmability of Rydberg arrays with new approaches to distributed and networked quantum sensing. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.