RII Track-4:NSF: Introducing Quantum Logic Spectroscopy to Greater Southern Nevada as a Vital Quantum Control and Information Process Method

研究基础设施改进Track-4 EPSCoR研究员项目将为内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校(UNLV)的一名助理教授提供研究金，并为每个项目每年培训一名研究生。这项工作将与国家标准与技术研究所(NIST)的研究人员合作进行。量子逻辑光谱学(QLS)由NIST于2005年首创，是一种革命性的方法，能够实现对离子的普遍量子控制和检测，并对精密测量领域产生了重大影响。这项奖学金的目的是促进从NIST到UNLV的QLS技术和专业知识的转让。这一目标将通过多种方式实现。PI和研究生将对NIST进行多次访问，每次访问时间约为几个月。这将使研究人员获得实践经验并与NIST专家互动，同时还将为在UNLV建立QLS实验平台而不懈努力。预期结果将是多方面的。首先，将在联合国志愿人员组织建立一个有效的合格后勤服务平台。第二，将在NIST和UNLV之间建立牢固的联系。第三，联合国志愿人员组织将培养两名有经验的研究生。第四，将产生重分子离子的量子控制和状态读出方面的科学成果。第五，将为在联合国大学建立一个致力于量子科学的研究和教育中心做准备。作为基础研究和工业应用的领先研究重点，由EPSCoR奖学金发起的量子科学研究提供了大量的职业机会，并可以在提高女性、代表性不足的少数族裔和科学和工程专业第一代大学生的招生多样性和系统性留住方面发挥关键作用。国际和平研究所在UNLV的研究小组专注于开发极其灵敏的量子传感器，使用分子离子来探索标准模型以外的新物理。尽管QLS技术在原子钟、高电荷态离子和分子离子的精确测量方面有了很大的进步，但它在基本对称性测试中的应用，如探索CP破坏效应，仍未得到探索。主要的挑战来自于破坏CP测量所需的偏置电场和QLS方案所要求的运动纠缠之间的不相容。为了克服这一障碍，UNLV的PI团队提出了一种创新的旋转诱导量子控制协议。通过将QLS方案结合到这一新提出的精密计量学方法中，有可能大大提高违反CP的测量的灵敏度。这反过来可能导致发现或限制超越标准模型的新物理。此外，该方法还可以适用于多种分子物种，如232ThF+、229ThF+、181TaO+和175LuOH+。调查属分子物种的能力使我们有机会同时研究基础物理学中的广泛问题。在这一奖学金的支持下，PI的团队有机会在NIST的大力支持下，为181TaO+的精密光谱开发指定的QLS平台。这是迈向CP违规测量新时代的关键一步。此外，引入QLS技术将使UNLV的研究活动能够集中在光谱和化学反应方面研究鳗系元素化学。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4 EPSCoR Research Fellows project will provide a fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for one graduate student per project year at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). This work will be conducted in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). Pioneered by NIST in 2005, Quantum Logic Spectroscopy (QLS) stands as a revolutionary methodology enabling universal quantum control and detection of ions and has significantly impacted the fields of precision measurements. This fellowship aims to facilitate the transfer of QLS technology and expertise from NIST to UNLV. This objective will be realized through multiple means. The PI and graduate students will make several visits, each extending about a few months, to NIST. This will allow the researchers to gain hands-on experience and interact with NIST experts, while also having persistent efforts to establish a QLS experimental platform at UNLV. The anticipated outcomes will be multifold. First, a functional QLS platform will be established at UNLV. Second, a robust connection between NIST and UNLV will be created. Third, two experienced graduate students will be developed at UNLV. Fourth, scientific outputs in quantum control and state readout of heavy molecular ions will be generated. Fifth, the groundwork will be prepared for a research and education center dedicated to quantum science at UNLV. As a leading research focus in both fundamental studies and industrial applications, quantum science research initiated by this EPSCoR fellowship presents substantial career opportunities and can play a crucial role in enhancing the diversity of recruitment and systematic retention of women, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students in science and engineering. The PI’s research group at UNLV focuses on developing extremely sensitive quantum sensors using molecular ions to explore new physics beyond the Standard model. Although QLS technology has significantly advanced precision measurements in atomic clocks, highly charged ions, and molecular ions, its applications in testing fundamental symmetries, such as exploring CP-violating effects, remain unexplored. The primary challenge arises from the incompatibility between a biased electric field necessitated for CP-violating measurements and the motional entanglement required by the QLS scheme. To overcome this obstacle, the PI's group at UNLV has proposed an innovative rotation-induced quantum control protocol. By incorporating the QLS scheme into this newly proposed precision metrology approach, it is possible to greatly enhance the sensitivity of CP-violating measurements. This, in turn, could lead to the discovery or constraint of new physics beyond the Standard Model. Furthermore, this method could be applicable to a wide range of molecular species, such as 232ThF+, 229ThF+, 181TaO+, and 175LuOH+. The capability of investigating generic molecular species enables opportunities to study broad questions in fundamental physics in parallel. With the support of this fellowship, the PI’s group has opportunities to develop a designated QLS platform for precision spectroscopy of 181TaO+ with strong support from NIST. This constitutes a critical step towards ushering in a new era of CP-violation measurements. Moreover, introducing QLS technology will enable research activities at UNLV focused on studying actinide chemistry in terms of spectroscopy and chemical reactivity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.