Description: Precision mass measurement of ions using Penning or Paul traps.
Craik leads the RAVIOLIS project (SNSF Starting Grant, started July 2025) measuring atomic parity violation in barium ions at <0.1% precision. Her entanglement protocol uses multi-ion entangled states with photonic integrated waveguide addressing to common-mode-reject parity-conserving systematics. Previous work: precision measurement of Ba+ dipole transition probabilities below 1% uncertainty; first laser-guided individual addressing of Ba+ qubits with <10^-4 intensity crosstalk; isotope-shift spectroscopy in Ca+ for fifth-force searches. She is actively recruiting for postdocs and PhD students for the new Ba+ ion trap experiment.
Caldwell is a Royal Society University Research Fellow establishing the Molecular Quantum Matter Lab at UCL. Research directions: (1) Precision molecular spectroscopy for dark matter and fifth-force searches β measuring isotope shifts in molecular systems to test Standard Model predictions and probe new forces between neutrons and electrons; (2) Quantum control of molecules in external fields β laser cooling, Stark deceleration, and magneto-optical trapping of polar molecules; (3) Molecular beam spectroscopy with frequency comb referencing for ultra-high-precision lineshape measurements. The lab aims to build the most precise molecular spectrometer for BSM physics searches. Actively building the lab and seeking motivated students/postdocs.
Home leads the TIQI group working with Be+ and Ca+ trapped ions. Research directions: (1) Quantum error correction β fault-tolerant gates, surface code implementations with multi-ion chains; (2) Precision metrology β ytterbium ion optical clock, mixed-species ion chain spectroscopy and ytterbium HFS measurements; (3) Macroscopic superposition and quantum contextuality β creating nonclassical motional states in harmonic oscillators for tests of quantum foundations; (4) Scalable architectures β photonic integrated waveguides for individual ion addressing, quantum logic detection of spectroscopy ions. Key publications include first two-qubit gates with mixed species and records in quantum state readout fidelity. Lab is investigating quantum logic-enhanced spectroscopy of complex atomic systems.
Develops mass spectrometry-based imaging and proteomics technologies, including integration of tissue expansion microscopy with mass spectrometry imaging to achieve higher spatial resolution molecular maps of tissues such as tumors and brain.
Merkt leads the Molecular Physics and Spectroscopy group at ETH D-CHAB. Research directions: (1) High-resolution XUV/VUV spectroscopy β using synchrotron radiation and table-top laser sources to study molecular Rydberg states, ionization thresholds, and ro-vibrational structure at sub-MHz precision; (2) Precision molecular clock transitions β proposing and measuring molecular transitions suitable for fundamental constant variation searches (ΞΌ, Ξ±); (3) Metastable atom and ion trapping β developing new trapping methods for precision spectroscopy of exotic species; (4) Pulse and Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy β rotational spectroscopy of transient species. Direct applications to molecular quantum sensing and fundamental physics.
The Odom Group studies trapped molecular ions at millikelvin temperatures using radio-frequency ion traps. Key directions: (1) Controlled preparation and single-quantum-state readout of trapped molecular ions (e.g., AlHβΊ, SiOβΊ, NββΊ) β combining laser cooling, blackbody-radiation-assisted state preparation, and fluorescence detection for single-molecule precision spectroscopy; (2) Search for time-variation of fundamental constants (electron-to-proton mass ratio, fine structure constant Ξ±) using molecular vibrational/rotational transitions as highly sensitive probes; (3) Quantum effects in sub-Kelvin chemistry β probing tunneling, orbiting resonances, and quantum state control of reactive collisions between cold molecules. Member of CFP Northwestern.
Schuessler combines optical frequency combs with cavity-enhanced and mid-IR spectroscopy for ultrasensitive trace-gas and isotopic detection, and runs ion-trap precision mass/laser spectroscopy of exotic species. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is a comb-metrology counterpart to spin-based chemical sensing.
Develops single-cell and mass-spectrometry imaging technologies to discover and map neuropeptides and other small-molecule signaling agents involved in cell-cell communication.
Zare's group develops laser and mass-spectrometric methods -- including single-cell mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging of neuropeptides -- to chemically profile individual cells and tissue sections with high molecular specificity, alongside long-standing work in microdroplet and chiral-selective chemistry.