Taming, slowing and trapping atoms with light
Cold is quantum, Quantum is cool!
We shape quantum matter
Multicolored lasers for a variety of atoms
Keeping our eyes on the quantum world
Join our ultracool group!
High technology for great science

Welcome to the website of the Ultracold Quantum Gases group at the European Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy (LENS), the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence (Italy) and the Institute of Optics of the Italian National Research Council (CNR - INO). In our labs we use lasers and magnetic fields to produce the lowest temperatures of the Universe, just a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero...

At these temperatures, atoms stop moving and we can control them for a variety of different fundamental studies and applications. We can force atoms to arrange according to a periodic structure and simulate the behavior of crystalline solids and new materials. We can use the atoms as ultra-high accurate sensors to probe forces with the power of quantum mechanics. We can study how quantum particles combine together under the action of strong interactions and how superfluidity develops. We can use these ultracold atoms to process information and develop new quantum technologies.

Dress warmly and... follow us for this ultracold journey!

Welcome Nigel!

Homepage News

It is a great privilege for us to welcome Nigel Cooper, Professor in Theoretical Physics of University of Cambridge. Prof. Cooper will honour us with his presence for one year as a Visiting Professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence.
The research interests of Prof. Cooper are focused on the nature and properties of the novel phases of matter that can emerge as a result of quantum mechanical effects in interacting many-particle systems. In particular, he is a world leader in the investigation of the role of topology in the collective properties of ultra-cold atomic gases and of the electronic properties of novel solid state materials. He was awarded the 2007 Maxwell Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics, a Humboldt Research Award (2013), an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship (2013), a Simons Investigator Award (2017) and the 2019 Lord Rayleigh Prize of the IOP.

We are very grateful to him and looking forward to inspiring discussions and collaborations. We wish him a very pleasant and productive stay at University of Florence and LENS!

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