Yan Lab

Come explore the frontiers of quantum many-body physics!

In the field of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, we are achieving remarkable feats by manipulating atoms and molecules with lasers and cooling them to a millionth of a degree above absolute zero.  In this regime, quantum physics dominates. The movement and interaction strength of these particles can be meticulously controlled, letting us study the open questions of quantum mechanics with textbook precision. Our goal is to study quantum many-body physics with the clean, tunable platform of ultracold molecules - creating quantum materials and testing quantum chemistry from the bottom up. 

The Yan Lab is building several experiments:

• Quantum simulation of strongly correlated systems with potassium-silver molecules. We will harness a new "ultrapolar" molecule species - KAg.   These molecules are predicted to interact via electric dipolar interactions with unprecedented strength.  Dipolar molecules at low temperatures and high densities could lead to the creation of novel superfluid phases showing topological behavior.  

• Quantum chemistry with molecules in the cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) regime. We aim to integrate trapped ultracold molecules with high-finesse optical cavities. This will be a prime test bed to study how QED can alter photochemical reactions.