AQuRA
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    • University of Amsterdam
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University of Amsterdam

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The University of Amsterdam hosts the Strontium Quantum Gases group of Florian Schreck, who is also the AQuRA coordinator. The group uses strontium quantum gases to study quantum many-body physics and for precision measurement. Besides the AQuRA project, five other projects are also pursued:
  • Active optical clocks based on continuous superradiant lasers using the strontium kHz and mHz transitions (www.iqclock.eu).
  • Continuous passive strontium optical lattice clocks.
  • Quantum computation and simulation with strontium Rydberg atoms in tweezer arrays.
  • Creating ultracold RbSr ground-state molecules and quantum simulation with dipolar molecules.
  • Continuous-wave atom lasers.
In 2019 the atom laser project delivered the first continuous-wave Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), essentially the first continuous-wave atom laser (albeit one with fully reflective mirrors). The techniques developed to create the first continuous BEC underpin Amsterdam's efforts to develop continuous active and passive optical clocks.

Within AQuRA Amsterdam will deliver micro-optics based laser frequency distribution and control hardware, the control electronics and the physics package control software for the clock. This is based on our open source hardware and software platform. The micro-optics systems and the control solutions will be made commercially available through our spin off Firefly Quantum by 2025. Amsterdam will also contribute to the development of the AQuRA physics package in collaboration with the Syrte and Torun groups to build a precise portable passive optical lattice clock.

We do have open PhD and postdoc positions.

Strontium Quantum Gases group webpage: www.strontiumBEC.com

Team members

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Florian Schreck uses ultracold quantum gases to explore quantum physics. After his PhD 2002 at E.N.S. Paris with Christophe Salomon and a postdoc in Austin, TX with Mark Raizen, he joined the group of Rudolf Grimm at IQOQI, Innsbruck in 2004. He founded his own research group in 2008, soon afterwards creating the first quantum gas of strontium. Another important breakthrough was to reach quantum degeneracy using only laser cooling. In 2014 he moved his group to Amsterdam, where he extended his research using an ERC consolidator grant and an NWO Vici grant. He is the coordinator of the AQuRA consortium and was coordinator of the related iqclock and MoSaiQC consortia.

Contact: schreck@uva.nl
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Shayne Bennetts (postdoc) has worked on developing steady state ultracold Strontium gases at the University of Amsterdam since 2014. His PhD project aimed a make the first continuous-wave atom laser. On Christmas morning of 2019 together with lab partner Chun-Chia Chen he made the first continuously existing BEC, a continuous-wave atom laser without outcoupling. In former lives he worked with ultracold rubidium at the Australian National University and on some of the early thulium and holmium fiber lasers, solid state lasers and the OZDIRCM project with the Australian DST group.

Contact: shayne.bennetts@uva.nl
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Marcel Vonk is a theoretical physicist with an affinity for outreach and science popularization. He is the outreach coordinator for the UvA Institute of Physics.

Contact:
m.l.vonk@uva.nl
In addition the AQuRA team will work closely with team members working on the continuous passive and active optical clock projects:
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Sheng Zhou (PhD student) has studied at the Institute for Quantum Electronics at Beijing University and worked on vapor cell atomic clocks and cold atom gyroscopes at the Chinese Academic Engineering Physics. He's passionate to push the frontiers of precision measurement.

Contact: sheng@strontiumBEC.com
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Sumit Sarkar (postdoc)

Contact: s.sarkar@uva.nl
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme
​​under grant agreement No 101080166
 (AQuRA project).
  • Home
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  • About
  • Tasks
  • Partners
    • University of Amsterdam
    • Menlo Systems
    • Syrte, CNRS
    • iXblue
    • Nicolaus Copernicus University
    • NKT Photonics
    • QuiX Quantum
    • PTB
    • Vexlum
    • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Open Positions
    • Amsterdam
    • Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun
  • Media
    • in the media
    • for the media
  • Contact