Group Leader
Positions
2019 – present: Vice-Rector Innovation and Transfer at Ruprecht-Karl University Heidelberg
2008 – present: Full Professor (Chair) for Experimental Physics at the Ruprecht-Karl University Heidelberg
2013 – 2018: QianRen Jihua (1000Talent Plan) Chair Professor (part-time) at the Hefei National Institute for the Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei and Shanghai, China
2003 – 2008: Full Professor (Chair) for Experimental Physics at the Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg
2004 – 2006: Guest professor, Optics and Photonics Center of the University of São Paulo
2001/2002: Guest professor, University of Innsbruck
2000-2003: Research Group Leader “Laser Cooling Group”, Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg
2000: Habilitation in Physics at the Ruprecht-Karl University Heidelberg
1997-2000: Researcher, Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg (Prof. D. Schwalm/R. Grimm)
1995-1997: Marie-Curie postdoctoral fellow, University of Amsterdam and FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (Prof. J.T.M. Walraven)
Education
1995: Doctorate in Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilian University München
1992-1995: Researcher, Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching (Prof. T.W. Hänsch)
1990/1991: Guest Scientist, Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel de l´Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (Prof. S. Haroche)
1990: Diplom in Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilian University München
1987/1988: Trainee, Research Centers of Siemens, Erlangen, and Asea Brown Boveri, Baden near Zürich
1984-1990: Study of physics and philosophy, University of Bonn and University of München
Professional Activities
- Fellow of the American Physical Society
- Founding Director, Heidelberg Center for Quantum Dynamics, Heidelberg University (2012-2015)
- Fellow of the Marsilius Kolleg Heidelberg (2012/13)
- Dean, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Heidelberg University (2015-2017, Deputy Dean 2012 – 2015)
- Speaker, Research Council Field of Focus 2, Heidelberg University (2012 – 2015)
- Managing Director, Physics Institute, Heidelberg University (2010-2011, Deputy Director since 2012)
- Deputy Dean and Dean for Studies, Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Freiburg (2006-2008)
- Member, Editorial Board of Physical Review X (since 2016)
- Member, Editorial Board of the European Physical Journal ST (since 2014)
- Member, Editorial Board of the European Physical Journal D (2005 – 2014)
- Elected Member, Council of the German Physical Society (since 2018)
- Member, Stern-Gerlach Prize Committee, German Physical Society (since 2017)
- Chairman, Section “Atoms, Molecules, Quantum Optics and Plasmas”, German Physical Society (2011 – 2015)
- Chairman, Division “Quantum Optics and Photonics”, German Physical Society (2006-2008, Vice-Chairman 2004-2006)
- Coordinator, EU ITN “COHERENCE – Cooperativity in Highly Excited Rydberg Ensembles – Control and Entanglement”
- Coordinator, Collaborative Research Project “QUDIPMOL – Quantum-degenerate dipolar gases of bialkali molecules” within the ESF EUROCORES “Cold Quantum Matter”
- Member, General Physics Advisory Committee of the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) (2006-2012)
- Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Research Programme “Coherent Processes in Complex Structures” (funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, 2004-2007)
- Member, Steering Committee ESF Programme “Collisions in Atom Traps” (2004-2006)
- Organizer and co-organizer of international workshops and conferences (Selection: “Current Trends in Atomic Physics“ (Les Houches 2016), “Rydberg Physics with Two-Electron Systems” (Hamburg 2015), “Sino-German Symposium on Quantum Information and Quantum Simulation” (Heidelberg, 2015), German-Japanese Symposium on Laser Science (Heidelberg, 2014),“Rydberg Gases and Ultracold Plasmas” (Harvard, 2009)
- Vertrauensdozent, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (2005-2013)
Publications
2016
Density matrix reconstruction of three-level atoms via Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency Journal Article
In: Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, vol. 49, no. 16, pp. 164002, 2016.
2015
Correlated Exciton Transport in Rydberg-Dressed-Atom Spin Chains Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 115, iss. 9, pp. 093002, 2015.
Universality of weakly bound dimers and Efimov trimers close to Li - Cs Feshbach resonances Journal Article
In: New J. Phys., vol. 17, iss. 5, pp. 055009, 2015.
Sympathetic cooling of OH- ions using ultracold Rb atoms in a dark SPOT Working paper
arXiv e-prints: 1507.06575, 2015.
2014
Analyzing Feshbach resonances: A $^6$Li-$^133$Cs case study Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 90, iss. 1, pp. 012710, 2014.
Observation of Efimov Resonances in a Mixture with Extreme Mass Imbalance Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 112, pp. 250404, 2014.
Das System und der Rest. Grenzen der Grenzziehung Online
2014, visited: 01.01.2014.
Full Counting Statistics of Laser Excited Rydberg Aggregates in a One-Dimensional Geometry Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 112, iss. 1, pp. 013002, 2014.
An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems Journal Article
In: Frontiers of Physics, vol. 9, pp. 571-586, 2014.
2013
Atomic Interactions at a Distance Journal Article
In: Physics, vol. 6, pp. 71, 2013.
Quantum physics: Spooky action gets collective Journal Article
In: Nature, vol. 498, pp. 438, 2013, ISSN: 1476-4687.
Photoionization of optically trapped ultracold atoms with a high-power light-emitting diode Journal Article
In: Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 043107, 2013.
Indirect Dynamics in a Highly Exoergic Substitution Reaction Journal Article
In: J. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 135, no. 11, pp. 4250–4259, 2013, ISSN: 0002-7863.
Observing the Dynamics of Dipole-Mediated Energy Transport by Interaction-Enhanced Imaging Journal Article
In: Science, vol. 342, no. 6161, pp. 954-956, 2013.
Sub-Poissonian Statistics of Rydberg-Interacting Dark-State Polaritons Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 110, pp. 203601, 2013.
Observation of interspecies $^6$Li-$^133$Cs Feshbach resonances Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 87, pp. 010701, 2013.
Spontaneous avalanche ionization of a strongly blockaded Rydberg gas Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 110, pp. 045004, 2013.
2012
Reactive collisions of trapped anions with ultracold atoms Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 86, iss. 4, pp. 043438, 2012.
Versatile cold atom target apparatus Journal Article
In: Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 83, no. 7, pp. 073112, 2012.
Formation and relaxation of RbHe exciplexes on He nanodroplets studied by femtosecond pump and picosecond probe spectroscopy Journal Article
In: Journal Chem. Phys., vol. 137, iss. 24, pp. 244307, 2012.
Interaction enhanced imaging of individual atoms embedded in dense atomic gases Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett, vol. 108, iss. 1, pp. 013002, 2012.
A stand-alone interactive physics showcase Journal Article
In: The Physics Teacher, vol. 50, iss. 4, pp. 235, 2012.
Ultracold Molecules Formed by Photoassociation: Heteronuclear Dimers, Inelastic Collisions, and Interactions with Ultrashort Laser Pulses Journal Article
In: Chemical Reviews, vol. 112, no. 9, pp. 4890, 2012.
2011
High-precision semiconductor wavelength sensor based on a double-layer photo diode Journal Article
In: Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 82, iss. 9, pp. 093111, 2011.
Topical issue on Cold Quantum Matter [Editorial] Journal Article
In: Eur. Phys. J. D, vol. 65, pp. 1, 2011.
Population redistribution in optically trapped polar molecules Journal Article
In: Eur. Phys. J. D, vol. 65, pp. 99, 2011.
Inelastic collisions of ultracold polar LiCs molecules with caesium atoms in an optical dipole trap Journal Article
In: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., vol. 13, iss. 42, pp. 19101, 2011.
Physics and Chemistry of Cold Molecules [Editorial] Journal Article
In: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., vol. 13, pp. 18703, 2011.
Interaktive Physik-Vitrine für Schulen Journal Article
In: Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht, vol. 64/5, pp. 288, 2011.
Quantum interference in interacting three-level Rydberg gases: coherent population trapping and electromagnetically induced transparency Journal Article
In: J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys., vol. 44, no. 18, pp. 184018, 2011.
Nanosecond Photofragment Imaging of Adiabatic Molecular Alignment Journal Article
In: J. Chem. Phys., vol. 134, iss. 10, pp. 104306, 2011.
2010
Evidence of Antiblockade in an Ultracold Rydberg Gas Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, pp. 013001, 2010.
Coherent population trapping with controlled interparticle interactions Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, pp. 173602, 2010.
On the dynamics of chemical reactions of negative ions Journal Article
In: International Reviews in Physical Chemistry, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 589-617, 2010.
Permanent dipole moment of LiCs in the ground state Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 032503, 2010.
Storage of protonated water clusters in a biplanar multipole rf trap Journal Article
In: New J. Phys., vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 065035, 2010.
F$^-$ + CH$_3$I -> FCH$_3$ + I$^-$ Reaction Dynamics. Non-Traditional Atomistic Mechanisms and Formation of a Hydrogen-Bonded Complex Journal Article
In: J. Phys. Chem. Lett., vol. 1, pp. 2747-2752, 2010.
2009
Photoassociation and coherent transient dynamics in the interaction of ultracold rubidium atoms with shaped femtosecond pulses. II. Theory Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 063417, 2009.
Photoassociation and coherent transient dynamics in the interaction of ultracold rubidium atoms with shaped femtosecond pulses. I. Experiment Journal Article
In: Phys. Rev. A, vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 063416, 2009.
Spectrally resolved coherent transient signal for ultracold rubidium molecules Journal Article
In: Eur. Phys. J. D, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 711-714, 2009.
Characteristic oscillations in the coherent transients of ultracold rubidium molecules using red and blue detuned pulses for photoassociation Journal Article
In: Journal of Physics B, vol. 42, pp. 215307, 2009.
Autoionization of an ultracold Rydberg gas through resonant dipole coupling Journal Article
In: Eur. Phys. J. D, vol. 53, pp. 329, 2009.
Frozen Rydberg Gases Book Chapter
In: Weidemüller, M.; Zimmermann, C. (Ed.): in: Cold Atoms and Molecules, Wiley VCH, Wiley VCH, 2009.
Formation of ultracold dipolar molecules in the lowest vibrational levels by photoassociation Journal Article
In: Faraday Discussions, vol. 142, pp. 335, 2009.
Photoassociation spectroscopy of the B^1Pi state of LiCs Journal Article
In: The Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 131, no. 5, pp. 054304, 2009.
Absolute photodetachment cross section measurements of the O^- and OH^- anion Journal Article
In: The Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 130, no. 6, pp. 061105, 2009.
How can a 22-pole ion trap exhibit ten local minima in the effective potential? Journal Article
In: Journal of Physics B, vol. 42, no. 15, pp. 154007, 2009.
Injection seeded single mode intra-cavity absorption spectroscopy Journal Article
In: Applied Physics B, vol. 96, pp. 281, 2009.
Rydberg atoms - There can be only one Journal Article
In: Nature Physics, vol. 5, no. 91, 2009.
Influence of a Feshbach resonance on the photoassociation of LiCs Journal Article
In: New Journal of Physics, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 055034, 2009.