Séminaires

Title of seminar: Left or Right in Nature – The Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality

Abstract:

Emil Fischer’s studies of peptides and sugars led to chiral molecules (D-sugars and L-amino acids) and to the confirmation of Pasteur’s conjecture that the universe is disymmetric. It is well known that D-sugars and L-aminoacids completely dominate the biochemistry of living organisms. But what is the cause for this single handedness in nature? Is biomolecular homochirality a necessary condition for life? Biomolecular homochirality at the microscopic level is supposed to be responsible for most of the symmetry breaking effects at the macroscopic level, for example that our heart is on the left-hand side of our body. On the microscopic side, a fundamental discovery of the last century is that our Universe is intrinsically left-handed (Weinberg-Salam-Glashow theory), the electro-weak interaction (parity-odd) gives rise to primarily left-spinning electrons during beta decay. In 1957 Lee and Yang discovered parity violation in the K+ decay, which was confirmed shortly after by Wu et al. for the -decay. It is now well accepted that parity violation can lead to a small energy
difference between enantiomers of chiral molecules, although there is no experimental verification yet of this distinct symmetry breaking effect. Can this tiny effect be responsible for biomolecular homochirality in nature?

Title of seminar: Quantum Probes of Fundamental Physics with Ultracold Molecules

Abstract:

Some of the biggest mysteries in physics—such as why the universe is made mostly of matter—suggest that our current understanding, the Standard Model of particle physics, is incomplete. One way to explore these open questions is by searching for a very slight distortion in the shape of the electron. If the electron is not perfectly round, it would point to new laws of physics that lie beyond our existing theories.

To look for this tiny effect, we use ultracold molecules as quantum sensors. By cooling molecules to temperatures near absolute zero and trapping them with beams of light, we can observe their quantum behaviour with exceptional precision. These tabletop experiments allow us to explore fundamental physics at energy scales that rival those probed by the world’s largest particle accelerators.

Beyond their role in fundamental physics, ultracold molecules also offer a rich platform for quantum technologies. Their complex internal structure makes them useful for quantum computing, highly sensitive measurements, and even studying chemical reactions in entirely new quantum regimes. Together, these capabilities make ultracold molecules a powerful toolset for advancing both our understanding of nature and the technologies of the future.

Title of seminar: How to create a distributed entangled sensor network with tunable long-range interaction using a double-well superlattice?

Abstract:

In this work, we consider a system made of several double wells (DW) loaded with atoms that interact via dipolar interactions (as described in [1] for example). Performing a two-mode approximation for each DW, we can derive an effective spin-Hamiltonian that describes the interactions between the DWs and that can be tuned by playing on the geometry of the DW superlattice or adding light induced dipolar interactions [2]. This Hamiltonian leads to entanglement and squeezing between the DWs when we perform a quench experiment. We are able to determine numerically and analytically the amount of local and shared squeezing using multiparameter squeezing [3] for different sets of Hamiltonian parameters, and we estimate the metrological interest of our system. Finally, we propose two protocols to take advantage of this entangled sensor network in the case of only two DWs, one for enhanced gradiometry using ellipse fitting methods [4, 5], and the second one using quantum non demolition measurements to transfer the multiparameter squeezing delocalised on the whole system to a single DW [6].

References:
[1] L. Masi, T. Petrucciani, G. Ferioli, G. Semeghini, G. Modugno, M. Inguscio, and M. Fattori, Phys. Rev. Let. 127 020601 (2021)
[2] M. Maiwöger, M. Sonnleitner, T. Zhang, I. Mazets, M. Mallweger, D. Rätzel, F. Borselli, S. Erne, J. Schmiedmayer and P. Haslinger, Phys. Rev. X 12 031018 (2022)
[3] M. Gessner, A. Smerzi, and L. Pezzè, Nat. Com. 11 3817 (2020)
[4] R. Corgier, M. Malitesta, L. A. Sidorenkov, F. Pereira Dos Santos, G. Rosi, G. M. Tino, A. Smerzi, L. Salvi, and L. Pezzè, arxiv.2501.18256 (2025)
[5] T. Petrucciani, A. Santoni, C. Mazzinghi, D. Trypogeorgos, F. S. Cataliotti, M. Inguscio, G. Modugno, A. Smerzi, L. Pezzè, and M. Fattori, arXiv:2504.17391v1 (2025)
[6] L. Pezzè, A. Smerzi, M. K. Oberthaler, R. Schmied, and P. Treutlein, Rev. of Mod. Phys. 90 (2018)

Title of seminar: Floquet-Engineering of Feshbach Resonances and Bound States in the Continuum

Abstract:

His talk will be on the control of interaction properties, in ultracold atom systems, and how it enables the realization of unconventional bound states (also seen in different fields such as photonics ans acoustics)

Title of seminar: Progress in clock comparisons and networks at NIST, Boulder.

Abstract:

Atomic clock comparisons represent a means to characterize the consistency of optical atomic clocks as frequency references for future redefinition of the SI second and for tests of fundamental physics. In this talk I will discuss schemes aimed at improving measurement precision in clock comparisons, including recent work at also using time and frequency techniques for the realization of quantum networking.

Title of seminar: Wave turbulence in Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract:

Wave turbulence refers to a state of a continuous medium that is populated by random, mutually interacting waves spanning a broad range of scales. When these waves are only weakly nonlinear, we can turn to WT theory, a powerful mathematical framework that statistically characterizes such turbulent wave fields.

In this talk, I will focus on how WT theory has been applied and further developed to describe density waves in Bose-Einstein condensates, covering both 4-wave and 3-wave interaction regimes. This allows us to derive universal scaling solutions, including steady-state spectra known as the Kolmogorov–Zakharov (KZ) spectra and self-similar evolutions. All these theoretical predictions have been tested and confirmed by direct numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (the mean-field description of a BEC) as well as by simulations of the ascociated wave-kinetic equations derived by WT thoery.

I will also discuss the current state of experiments relevant to turbulent BECs. In particular, I will share insights from our latest results on the “equation of state” for steady turbulent cascades in Bose-Einstein condensates—recently reported in [Dora et al. Nature 620, 521 (2023)].