Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) and cold atom technologies have emerged as pivotal tools in modern atomic physics and quantum engineering. By harnessing the forces produced by laser light in conjunction ...

Mini-MOT: A new miniaturized optical system for laser cooling atoms in a magneto-optical trap, or MOT. (Courtesy: NIST) The magneto-optical trap, or MOT, is the workhorse of cold-atom physics. Without ...

A research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland has succeeded in cooling atoms of a rare-earth element, erbium, to within two millionths ...

Lasers? Individual atoms trapped next to hot surfaces? Lots of dense text about degrees of freedom and stuff? I have found the after life, and it is a big quantum optics experiment. Researchers have ...

Scientists in South Korea have created what they call "the world’s smallest ball game," throwing individual atoms between two optical traps. The research could eventually make for more adaptable and ...

Defect-free pattern of 100 atomic qubits: a new platform for scalable quantum computing. Credit: Gerhard Birkl Neutral atoms trapped by light in arrays of dipole traps could be used as quantum bits ...

The precise measurement of states in atomic and molecular systems can help to validate fundamental physics theories and their predictions. Among the various platforms that can help to validate ...