For decades, CU Boulder has been an internationalĚýleader in quantum physics, and in transforming quantum research breakthroughs into real-world applications—from lasers that detect methane in the air to new microscopes that can probe the world in never-before-seen detail. Over its 60-year history, JILA—a joint Institute between CU Boulder and NIST—has boasted four NobelĚýPrize winners. Learn more about our latest quantum science and research discoveries.Ěý

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Heusler Co2MnGa compound

Unlocking the secrets of spin with high-harmonic probes

Nov. 28, 2023

Reported in a new Science Advances paper, a JILA team and co-collaborators probed the spin dynamics within a special material known as a Heusler compound: a mixture of metals that behaves like a single magnetic material.

Scott Diddams with his students in the lab

Researchers to test Einstein’s predictions of general relativity atop Rocky Mountains

Nov. 6, 2023

Imagine being able to measure tiny changes in the flow of time caused by Earth’s gravity with atomic clocks atop one of babyÖ±˛Ąapp’s iconic peaks. That could soon be a reality thanks to an NSF grant that will advance geodesy through the use of quantum sensors, some of the most precise in the world.

Sen. Michael Bennet visits with Jun Ye, professor adjoint and fellow, while visiting JILA

CU and Sen. Michael Bennet celebrate quantum hub news, hear from students

Oct. 23, 2023

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet visited campus Oct. 20, and the trip to campus became an unexpected cause for celebration about babyÖ±˛Ąapp’s place in the nation’s burgeoning quantum ecosystem.

ring of dust around a star with small planet in the foreground

An infrared telescope that spans the globe? New grant may make it possible

Sept. 14, 2023

Physicists and engineers at CU Boulder envision infrared astronomy telescopes that may one day span the entire globe—syncing up observations from instruments spread across the continents, or even orbiting Earth, and giving scientists an unprecedented look at phenomena like the birth of new planets.

People walk in front of a building on the CU Boulder campus

Pioneering physics center gets $25M

Sept. 12, 2023

For nearly two decades, physicists at JILA have pioneered record-fast lasers that can fit on a table and have chilled clouds of atoms to just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. With a new award, their work is just getting started.

A police officer gives a volunteer a roadside sobriety test

A reliable cannabis breathalyzer? Possible, but not easy

Sept. 11, 2023

CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are teaming up to help adapt a 90-year-old system for detecting alcohol for a new age of cannabis legalization. A new study suggests it won’t be easy.

illustration of C60 molecule

A new spin on ergodicity breaking

Aug. 18, 2023

Researchers led by JILA and NIST fellows Jun Ye and David Nesbitt along with scientists from other universities have observed novel ergodicity-breaking in C60, a highly symmetric molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms arranged on the vertices of a soccer ball pattern.

Illustration of multiple molecules made up of two atoms represented by blue and red spheres

Why does matter exist? Roundness of electrons may hold clues

July 6, 2023

Physicists at CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made record-breaking measures of electrons, finding that these tiny particles may be more round- than egg-shaped. Their results could bring scientists closer to answering a profound mystery of existence.

Abstract blue rings.

New seed grants bring quantum out of the lab, into the marketplace

May 18, 2023

CU Boulder has long been recognized as a global leader in quantum research and education. A new grant, awarded recently by the State of babyÖ±˛Ąapp’s Economic Development Commission, takes that one step further by investing in the “quantum ecosystem” across the state.

Physics laboratory

NIST supports undergrad, graduate research experiences at CU

April 25, 2023

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has made a $94.5 million cooperative agreement to continue successful NIST-CU Boulder collaboration.

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