David Leibrandt Portrait
Associate Professor Adjoint • NIST • JILA Member
Physics
david.leibrandt@nist.gov
(303) 497-7292

Office: 81-1A213, NIST, 325 Broadway St.

Research interests:

My research group focuses on precision measurements and quantum control using trapped ions and quantum information processing techniques, with diverse applications ranging from optical atomic clocks and relativistic geodesy to tests of physics beyond the standard model and exploring the experimental limits of quantum metrology.  One project is to construct optical clocks based on quantum-logic spectroscopy of Al+ ions.  We have recently achieved a record systematic uncertainty below 10-18, and are currently working towards operating the clock with multiple, entangled ions to achieve a stability near the Heisenberg limit.  In another project, we use quantum-logic spectroscopy to prepare pure quantum states of a single CaH+ molecular ion, and perform precision rotational spectroscopy and generate entanglement with an atomic ion using a frequency comb.

I am a staff member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and my labs are located on the NIST campus in Boulder.  I work in the Ion Storage Group leading the experiments on trapped-ion clocks and precision measurements.

Selected publications:

  1. C.W. Chou, C. Kurz, D.B. Hume, P.N. Plessow, D.R. Leibrandt, and D. Leibfried , “Preparation and coherent manipulation of pure quantum states of a single molecular ion”, Nature 545, 203 (2017).
  2. J.-S. Chen, S.M. Brewer, C.W. Chou, D.J. Wineland, D.R. Leibrandt, and D.B. Hume, “Sympathetic ground state cooling and time-dilation shifts in an 27Al+ optical clock”, Phys. Rev. Lett 118, 053002 (2017).
  3. D.B. Hume and D.R. Leibrandt, “Probing beyond the laser coherence time in optical clock comparisons”, Phys. Rev. A 93, 032138 (2016).
  4. S. Cook, T. Rosenband, and D.R. Leibrandt, “Laser-frequency stabilization based on steady-state spectral-hole burning in Eu3+:Y2SiO5”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 253902 (2015).
  5. D.R. Leibrandt, J.C. Bergquist, and T. Rosenband, “Cavity-stabilized laser with acceleration sensitivity below 10-12 g-1”, Phys. Rev. A 87, 023829 (2013). 
  6. D.B. Hume, C.W. Chou, D.R. Leibrandt, M.J. Thorpe, D.J. Wineland, and T. Rosenband, “Trapped-ion state detection through coherent motion”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 243902 (2011).
  7. L. Lamata, D.R. Leibrandt, I.L. Chuang, J.I. Cirac, M.D. Lukin, V. Vuletic, S.F. Yelin, “Ion crystal transducer for strong coupling between single ions and single photons”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 030501 (2011).
  8. D.R. Leibrandt, J. Labaziewicz, V. Vuletic, and I.L. Chuang, “Cavity sideband cooling of a single trapped ion”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 103001 (2009). 

A more complete list of publications can be found here.