MRI R2: Acquisition of a Femtosecond Optical Frequency Comb and THz Spectrometer for Atomic, Molecular and Condensed Matter Spectroscopy

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This award is for state-of-the-art spectroscopic instrumentation for the Departments of Physics and Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University - East Bay for research in the fields of atomic physics, condensed matter physics, material science, and physical chemistry. The interdisciplinary team of scientists, all experienced spectroscopists and active researcher-educators will carry out a wide array of spectroscopic research projects. In atomic physics, direct frequency comb spectroscopy will be employed in a long-term research program to understand the complex spectra of rare-earth atoms, enabling discovery of a large number of theoretically predicted energy levels yet to be experimentally found and determination of atomic state parameters (such as lifetimes, polarizabilities, hyperfine splittings, gyromagnetic ratios, etc.) that have never been measured. These experiments will vastly improve our knowledge of rare-earth atoms and allow evaluation of potential candidates among metastable states in rare-earth atoms for new tests of fundamental physics, in particular searches for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron. In condensed matter physics, characteristic low energy excitations will be probed in correlated electronic systems and temperature-frequency scaling behavior will be tested in systems that undergo quantum phase transitions. In materials science, THz spectroscopy will facilitate the characterization of novel thin film photovoltaic systems as well as engineered metamaterials split ring resonator structures (so-called negative index of refraction materials). Finally in physical chemistry the system will be used to create composite spectra for atmospherically relevant greenhouse gases and molecules.The research on spectroscopy of atoms, molecules and condensed matter systems blends the power of the new systems with well-developed experimental methods and analysis techniques - well-suited for undergraduate research - used both in academic and industrial research. The acquisitions will provide students in multiple disciplines (physics, chemistry, and biochemistry) access to experiences and research opportunities they otherwise would not have. In particular, California State University - East Bay is one of the most diverse undergraduate institutions in the U.S. (in 2008, the student diversity ranked 67th out of 2,474 four-year universities according to the U.S. Department of Education), and our departments are at the forefront of recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities and women in the physical sciences. At an affordable, accessible, public university, this Major Research Instrumentation acquisition will provide opportunities to the broadest possible range of students and attract new physical science majors from the extremely diverse pool of students attending California State University East Bay.