Physics and Astronomy Colloquium- Clayton Simien, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham
Title: "Laser Spectroscopy and Cooling: Tools to Probe Fundamental Physics"
Abstract: Laser spectroscopy and cooling are ubiquitous techniques in modern Atomic Physics. The spectroscopic quantities obtained from using these tools are sensitive diagnostics to important physics, and can foster technological advances in various industries. For example, measuring the change or shift in atomic resonances have been used in various settings ranging from testing the symmetry of the anti-world in antihydrogen experiments to investigating superconductivity in quantum gas systems. I will present the application of laser spectroscopy to probe the relative nuclear charge radii of light atomic nuclei, investigate hyperfine structure of lanthanide elements, and explore novel fundamental interactions. In addition, I will describe developing experiments in my research group which involve precision spectroscopy in conjunction with laser cooling and trapping to investigate next generation frequency standards, quantum enhanced metrology, dipolar physics, and extremely correlated matter.