Our recent measurement of the hydrogen 2S-8D transition appeared in PRL. From this, we were able to extract a new value for the proton charge radius which shows a 3-σ discrepancy with the CODATA 2018 value. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.023001

We recently published an article in Applied Optics on our 243.1 nm laser system that was featured as an editor’s pick. Through significant development, this laser system is now capable of generating > 1 W of stable UV power over hour long time scales. We are able to control the frequency of this radiation precisely, enabling 2-photon excitation of the 1S-2S transition in hydrogen. With this system, we plan to excite a large number of cyrogenic hydrogen atoms to the 2S state in hydrogen in a UV enhancement cavity, where we can then perform 2S-8D spectroscopy. Once this is complete, the powers built up in this deep UV enhancement cavity can be used to demonstrate two-photon laser cooling of hydrogen.
You can find the full version of the paper here
https://www.osapublishing.org/ao/abstract.cfm?uri=ao-58-7-1657
We are excited to announce our most recent publication in Optics Letters: Cavity Enhanced Deep UV Laser for Two Photon Cooling of Atomic Hydrogen. This paper details our work to build up the 243 nm power from our laser system, enhancing it from 650 mW to 30 W. This amount of power should give a two photon scattering rate sufficient to demonstrate laser cooling of hydrogen. You can check out the work here:
https://www.osapublishing.org/ol/abstract.cfm?uri=ol-43-6-1375
We are excited to announce our lab’s second publication. This paper shows that a simple frequency comb design, with an amplitude noise (RIN) servo, can achieve near state-of-the art phase noise performance for an erbium fiber frequency comb. You can check out the paper at Optics Express with the link below.
https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-25-15-18175&id=370027
03/20/2017 Graduate student, Cory Rasor, was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for research on Parity Non-Conservation (PNC) in atomic hydrogen. This fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
03/07/2017 Colorado State University’s news, Source, recognizes the lab’s quest to laser cool atomic hydrogen. For those not familiar with our research, this article is a great, accessible introduction. Read the article here! Source Article