Atomic, Molecular, Optical Science

AMOS encompasses the research in
atomic, molecular, and optical science
at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

AMOS Research Areas

AMOS is a center for quantum physics with atomic, molecular, and optical systems, at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The center includes 15 research groups and activities ranging across most contemporary topics in AMO physics - from atto-second pulses and intense lasers, through precision spectroscopy of ultracold atoms, molecules or ions, to quantum information and quantum optics. AMOS members hold faculty appointments in both the Physics and Chemistry Faculties at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

A wide range of interests and scientific excellence contribute to making AMOS one of Israel's leading research centers. AMOS scientists publish annually numerous scientific manuscripts in leading journals.

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News

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Seminars

  • 01
    Apr 2025
    13:15

    Journal club

    Gad Horovitz
    Mai Fabish

     

    Mai Fabish

    Quantum interference in atom-exchange reactions

    Quantum coherence—a fragile and subtle phenomenon—has mostly been demonstrated in clean, isolated systems such as atoms, photons, superconductors, among others. But can such coherence survive in something as inherently chaotic and noisy as a chemical reaction? In this talk, we explore a surprising candidate: the reaction 2KRb→K2​+Rb2​, where, for the first time, the nuclear spins of KRb molecules were observed to maintain their quantum coherence and even interfere, despite becoming part of entirely different molecules.


    We’ll see how this entanglement persists through the reaction and can be indirectly probed via the quantum statistics—bosonic (K2​) and fermionic (Rb2​)—of the products. This unexpected result opens new possibilities for the coherent control of chemical reactions and may offer a novel path toward using molecular systems as qubits.

     

     

    Gad Horovitz

    Tunable light-induced dipole-dipole interaction between optically levitated nanoparticles

    When dealing with optically trapped particles, precise control over particle interactions is crucial. The experiment presented in this paper utilizes the phase coherence between optical fields to drive a light-induced dipole-dipole interaction, enabling fully controllable and nonreciprocal coupling between two nanoparticles. Additionally, the paper demonstrate how this dipole-dipole interaction can be selectively switched off, giving rise instead to an electrostatic interaction.
     

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  • 22
    Apr 2025
    13:15

    Issues and challenges of laser-plasma accelerators

    Victor Malka

    The validation of theoretical models describing fundamental interactions requires increasingly large and high-performance facilities, often pushing the limits of current technological capabilities and raising environmental and economic challenges. To overcome these limitations, a conceptual breakthrough is essential.

    Laser-plasma accelerators, which now hold a key position in the scientific landscape, already address numerous challenges, both in fundamental research (FEL, SF-QED) and in societal applications (security, radiotherapy). However, it remains crucial to explore their potential in the field of high-energy physics.

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Publications

  • Coherent dynamics of a nuclear-spin-isomer superposition

    Levin T. & Meir Z. (2025) Physical Review Research.
    Preserving quantum coherence with the increase of a system's size and complexity is a major challenge. Molecules, with their diverse sizes and complexities and many degrees of freedom, are an excellent platform for studying the transition from quantum to classical behavior. While most quantum-control studies of molecules focus on vibrations and rotations, we focus here on creating a quantum superposition between two nuclear-spin isomers of the same molecule. We present a scheme that exploits an avoided crossing in the spectrum to create strong coupling between two uncoupled nuclear-spin-isomer states, hence creating an isomeric qubit. We model our scheme using a four-level Hamiltonian and explore the coherent dynamics in the different regimes and parameters of our system. Our four-level model and approach can be applied to other systems with a similar energy-level structure.

  • Quantum control of ion-atom collisions beyond the ultracold regime

    Walewski M. Z., Frye M. D., Katz O., Pinkas M., Ozeri R. & Tomza M. (2025) Science Advances.
    Tunable scattering resonances are crucial for controlling atomic and molecular systems. However, their use has so far been limited to ultracold temperatures. These conditions remain hard to achieve for most hybrid trapped ion-atom systemsa prospective platform for quantum technologies and fundamental research. Here, we measure inelastic collision probabilities for Sr<sup>+</sup> + Rb and use them to calibrate a comprehensive theoretical model of ion-atom collisions. Our theoretical results, compared with experimental observations, confirm that quantum interference effects persist to the multiple-partial-wave regime, leading to the pronounced state and mass dependence of the collision rates. Using our model, we go beyond interference and identify a rich spectrum of Feshbach resonances at moderate magnetic fields with the Rb atom in its lower (f = 1) hyperfine state, which persist at temperatures as high as 1 millikelvin. Future observation of these predicted resonances should allow precise control of the short-range dynamics in Sr<sup>+</sup> + Rb collisions under unprecedentedly warm conditions.