Eyler, Edward

Research Activities
My research interests span several areas of experimental atomic, molecular, and optical physics, currently comprising three projects:

1. A career-long interest in precise laser spectroscopy of atomic helium and molecular hydrogen has included measurements of ionization energies, detailed studies of Rydberg state structure, and the best determination to date of the dissociation energy of H₂. In the newest venture, ultracold helium atoms are produced in a novel scheme using bichromatic optical forces. The resulting cold atoms will be studied using both cw lasers and phase-stabilized frequency combs.
2. In a collaborative project with Profs. William Stwalley and Phillip Gould, ultracold molecules are formed by photoassociation in magneto-optical traps (MOTs). The present focus is on efficiently forming ground-state Rb₂ and KRb molecules in an optical trap designed for investigating collisions and chemical reactions at ultracold temperatures.
3. In collaboration with Prof. Gould, ultracold Rydberg atoms with very high principal quantum numbers are produced by laser excitation of cold ground-state atoms in a MOT. The resulting cold Rydberg gas has atom-atom interaction energies that far exceed the atomic kinetic energies. This leads to unusual molecular and quantum phenomena, including collective excitations with potential applications to quantum computation.

Education

• S.B., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 1977
• M.A., Physics, Harvard University, June 1978
• Ph.D., Physics, Harvard University, January 1982

Appointments

• March 2007: Distinguished Visitor, JILA (University of Colorado).
• 1995-present: Professor of Physics, University of Connecticut.
• 1989-1995: Associate Professor of Physics, University of Delaware.
• 1983-1989: Assistant, Associate Professor of Physics, Yale University.
• 1982-1983: Post-doctoral Fellow, Harvard University.

Recent Publications

1. E. E. Eyler, D. E. Chieda, M. C. Stowe, M. J. Thorpe, T. R. Schibli, and J. Ye, Prospects for precision measurements of atomic helium using direct frequency comb spectroscopy, Eur. Phys. J. D 48, 43 (2008).
2. J. Stanojevic, R. Cote, D. Tong, E. E. Eyler, and P. L. Gould, Long-range potentials and (n - 1)d + ns molecular resonances in an ultracold Rydberg gas, Phys. Rev. A 78, 052709 (2008).
3. D. Tong, S. M. Farooqi, E. G. M. van Kempen, Z. Pavlovich, J. Stanojevic, R. Cote, E. E. Eyler, and P. L. Gould, Observation of Electric Quadrupole Transitions to Rydberg nd States of Ultracold Rubidium Atoms, Phys. Rev. A 79, 052509 (2009).
4. J. T. Kim, D. Wang, E. E. Eyler, P. L. Gould, and W. C. Stwalley, Spectroscopy of ³⁹K⁸⁵Rb triplet excited states using ultracold a ³Σ⁺ molecules formed by photoassociation, New J. Phys. 11, 055020 (2009).
5. Book chapter: W. C. Stwalley, P. L. Gould, and E. E. Eyler, Ultracold Molecule Formation by Photoassociation, in Cold Molecules: Theory, Experiment, Applications, ed. by R.V. Krems, W.C. Stwalley, and B. Friedrich, CRC Press, Atlanta, 2009.