NIST/JILA physicist Jun Ye has been awarded the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his pioneering work on optical lattice clocks. These clocks use lasers to cool strontium atoms to near absolute zero and trap them in laser grids, enabling highly precise measurements of fundamental physical constants.
Ye’s clocks are so accurate they would neither gain nor lose a second in 15 billion years, making them potential candidates to replace current cesium-based time standards. His research has applications in GPS, communications, and precision measurements of gravity, motion, and magnetic fields.
The Breakthrough Prize committee recognized Ye’s “outstanding contributions to the invention and development of the optical lattice clock,” which has pushed the boundaries of atomic clock technology.
Keywords: Precision, Atomic, Metrology, Lasers, Strontium
