Travis L Nicholson

Research Interests

My research focuses on quantum science experiments with ultracold gases of neutral atoms. My team has pioneered ultracold physics with Main Group III (Group 13) atoms. We were the first to laser cool a Group III atom to near absolute zero, as well as the first to prepare these atoms in pure quantum states and optically trap them. I occasionally do theoretical physics research, and some of my work includes proposals for novel lasers and new quantum sensor designs. 

Bio

I am an experimental physicist that works on quantum science with ultracold atoms. I earned my PhD in 2015 from the University of Colorado, and my graduate research was performed at JILA in the group of Jun Ye. There I realized the most accurate atomic clock, which neither gains nor loses a second in 15 billion years. After that I did a postdoc at MIT, studying quantum nonlinear optics with ultracold rubidium. In 2017, I took a position as assistant professor of physics at the National University of Singapore and principal investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies. There I began my research in indium ultracold gases. In 2024 I was recruited to Duke as an assistant professor of physics with a joint appointment in ECE. I am also a principal investigator at the Duke Quantum Center.

Education

• M.S. University of Colorado, Boulder, 2011
• Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder, 2015

Positions

• Assistant Professor of Physics
• Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Member of the Duke Quantum Center

Courses Taught

• PHYSICS 152L9D: Introductory Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics (Discussion Component)

Publications

• Yu X, Mo J, Lu T, Tan TY, Nicholson TL. Magneto-optical trapping of a group- iii atom. Physical Review A. 2022 Jun 1;105(6).
• Yu X, Mo J, Lu T, Tan TY, Nicholson TL. Zeeman slowing of a group-III atom. Physical Review Research. 2022 Mar 1;4(1).
• Jäger SB, Liu H, Cooper J, Nicholson TL, Holland MJ. Superradiant emission of a thermal atomic beam into an optical cavity. Physical Review A. 2021 Sep 1;104(3).
• Liu H, Jäger SB, Yu X, Touzard S, Shankar A, Holland MJ, et al. Rugged mHz-Linewidth Superradiant Laser Driven by a Hot Atomic Beam. Physical review letters. 2020 Dec;125(25):253602.
• Liang Q-Y, Venkatramani AV, Cantu SH, Nicholson TL, Gullans MJ, Gorshkov AV, et al. Observation of three-photon bound states in a quantum nonlinear medium. Science (New York, NY). 2018 Feb;359(6377):783–6.
• Thompson JD, Nicholson TL, Liang Q-Y, Cantu SH, Venkatramani AV, Choi S, et al. Symmetry-protected collisions between strongly interacting photons. Nature. 2017 Feb;542(7640):206–9.
• Bromley SL, Zhu B, Bishof M, Zhang X, Bothwell T, Schachenmayer J, et al. Collective atomic scattering and motional effects in a dense coherent medium. Nature Communications. 2016 Mar 17;7.
• Nicholson TL, Blatt S, Bloom BJ, Williams JR, Thomsen JW, Ye J, et al. Optical Feshbach resonances: Field-dressed theory and comparison with experiments. Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. 2015 Aug 24;92(2).
• Nicholson TL, Campbell SL, Hutson RB, Marti GE, Bloom BJ, McNally RL, et al. Systematic evaluation of an atomic clock at 2 × 10^-18 total uncertainty. Nature Communications. 2015 Apr 21;6.
• Bloom BJ, Nicholson TL, Williams JR, Campbell SL, Bishof M, Zhang X, et al. An optical lattice clock with accuracy and stability at the 10-18 level. Nature. 2014 Jan 28;506(7486):71–5.
• Bloom BJ, Nicholson TL, Campbell SL, Williams JR, Zhang W, Bishof M, et al. Optical lattice clocks with performance better than 1×10^-17. In: Optics InfoBase Conference Papers. 2013.
• Nicholson TL, Martin MJ, Williams JR, Bloom BJ, Bishof M, Swallows MD, et al. Comparison of two independent sr optical clocks with 1×10 ^-17 stability at 103s. Physical Review Letters. 2012 Dec 5;109(23).
• Martin MJ, Swallows MD, Nicholson T, Bishof M, Bloom B, Williams J, et al. ⁸⁷Sr optical lattice clocks at JILA. In: CPEM Digest (Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements). 2012. p. 276–7.
• Blatt S, Nicholson TL, Bloom BJ, Williams JR, Thomsen JW, Julienne PS, et al. Measurement of Optical Feshbach Resonances in an Ideal Gas. Physical Review Letters. 2011 Aug 12;107(7).
• Swallows M, Campbell GK, Ludlow AD, Boyd MM, Thomsen JW, Martin MJ, et al. Precision measurement of fermionic collisions using an ⁸⁷Sr optical lattice clock with 1 × 10^-16 inaccuracy. In: IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control. 2010. p. 574–82.
• Campbell GK, Boyd MM, Thomsen JW, Martin MJ, Blatt S, Swallows MD, et al. Probing interactions between ultracold fermions. Science. 2009 Apr 17;324(5925):360–3.
• Ludlow AD, Campbell GK, Blatt S, Boyd MM, Martin MJ, Nicholson TL, et al. Quantum metrology with lattice-confined ultracold SR atoms. In: Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology, ISFSM 2008. 2009. p. 73–81.
• Zirbel JJ, Ni KK, Ospelkaus S, Nicholson TL, Olsen ML, Julienne PS, et al. Heteronuclear molecules in an optical dipole trap. Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. 2008 Jul 23;78(1).