Optical Physics at JILA

JILA optical physicists manipulate light to produce ultrashort laser pulses. They then study these pulses to gain insight into the fundamental properties of light. Thus the investigation of light itself is intertwined with the development of advanced ultrafast light sources and optical pulse shapers, the precise control of ultrafast pulses and their interactions with passive optical cavities, and the control of the carrier-envelope phase of ultrashort pulses. As a result of JILA's optical physics research, ultrafast lasers are becoming increasingly capable of delivering designer light pulses whose applications include the control of dynamical processes in chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine, telecommunications, and nanotechnology. JILA research also finds important applications in precision metrology, including the development of optical frequency standards and optical atomic clocks. JILA optical physics research also focuses on quantum optics theory and blind signal separation.