Kastler-Brossel Laboratory

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The Kastler–Brossel Laboratory, located in Paris, France, is a research laboratory specializing in fundamental physics of quantum systems. Founded in 1951 by Alfred Kastler and Jean Brossel, it is a joint research unit operated by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the École normale supérieure, the Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University and the Collège de France.

A quantum system is a portion of the whole Universe which is taken under consideration to make analysis or to study for quantum mechanics pertaining to the wave-particle duality in that system. Everything outside this system is studied only to observe its effects on the system. A quantum system involves the wave function and its constituents, such as the momentum and wavelength of the wave for which wave function is being defined.

Alfred Kastler French physicist

Alfred Kastler was a French physicist, and Nobel Prize laureate.

Jean Brossel was a French physicist known for his work on quantum optics. He was born and died in Périgueux.

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Brief History

The laboratory was founded in 1951 by Alfred Kastler (Nobel Prize in Physics in 1966) and Jean Brossel on the theme of the interaction between light and matter. The initial name of laboratory was the « Laboratoire de spectroscopie Hertzienne de l'ENS ». It is located in the Department of Physics of École Normale Supérieure.

Nobel Prize in Physics One of the five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel

The Nobel Prize in Physics is a yearly award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions for humankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

In 1967, a second site opened on the Jussieu campus.

In 1994, the laboratory changed its name to « Laboratoire Kastler Brossel » in honor of its two founders.

Now, the Kastler Brossel Laboratory (LKB) is one of the main actor in the field of fundamental physics of quantum systems.

Research activity

Many new themes have appeared recently in the field of fundamental physics of quantum systems, like quantum entanglement or Bose-Einstein Condensation in gases, which leads to a constant renewal of the research carried out in the laboratory. Presently its activity takes several forms: cold atoms (bosonic and fermionics systems), atom lasers, quantum fluids, atoms in solid helium; quantum optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics; quantum information and quantum theory of measurement; quantum chaos; high-precision measurements. These themes lead not only to a better understanding of fundamental phenomena, but also to important applications, like more precise atomic clocks, improvement of detectors based on atomic interferometry or new methods for biomedical imaging.

Quantum entanglement physical phenomenon

Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance.

Director and former directors

People

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji French physicist

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji is a French physicist. He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Chu and William Daniel Phillips for research in methods of laser cooling and trapping atoms. Currently he is still an active researcher, working at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Serge Haroche French physicist

Serge Haroche is a French physicist who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with David J. Wineland for "ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems", a study of the particle of light, the photon. This and his other works developed laser spectroscopy. Since 2001, Haroche is a Professor at the Collège de France and holds the Chair of Quantum Physics. In 1971 he defended his doctoral thesis in physics at the University of Paris VI, his research has been conducted under the direction of Claude Cohen-Tannoudji.

The CNRS Gold medal is the highest scientific research award in France. It is presented annually by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and was first awarded in 1954. Moreover, Silver Medals are given to researchers for originality, quality, and importance, while Bronze Medals recognize initial fruitful results.

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École normale supérieure (Paris) French "grande école"

The École normale supérieure is one of the French grandes écoles and a school of PSL University since 2010.

ESPCI Paris is an institution of higher education founded in 1882 by the city of Paris, France. It educates undergraduate and graduate students in physics, chemistry and biology and conducts high-level research in those fields. It is ranked as the first French École d'Ingénieurs in the 2017 Shanghai Ranking.

Jean Baptiste Perrin French physicist

Jean Baptiste Perrin was a French physicist who, in his studies of the Brownian motion of minute particles suspended in liquids, verified Albert Einstein’s explanation of this phenomenon and thereby confirmed the atomic nature of matter. For this achievement he was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1926.

Alain Aspect French physicist

Alain Aspect is a French physicist noted for his experimental work on quantum entanglement.

The Institut d'astrophysique de Paris is a research institute in Paris, France. The Institute is part of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and is associated with the CNRS Centre national de la recherche scientifique. It is located at 98bis, Boulevard Arago Il in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, adjacent to the Paris Observatory.

Pierre and Marie Curie University French university

Pierre and Marie Curie University, titled as UPMC from 2007–2017 and also known as Paris 6, was a public research university in Paris, France from 1971 to 2017. The university is located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France.

Jean-Philippe Bouchaud is a French physicist. He is founder and Chairman of Capital Fund Management (CFM), professor of physics at École polytechnique and co-director of the CFM-Imperial Institute of Quantitative Finance at Imperial College London. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

Jean Dalibard is a French physicist, Professor at the École Polytechnique, member of the French Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the École Normale Supérieure. In 2009, Dalibard received the Blaise Pascal medal of the European Academy of Sciences for "his outstanding and influential works in atomic physics and quantum optics". In 2012, he received the Max Born Award and Davisson–Germer Prize.

École de physique des Houches

L’École de Physique des Houches was founded in 1951 by a young French scientist, Cécile DeWitt-Morette.

Pierre Aigrain was a French physicist and Secretary of Research in the French Academy of Sciences.

Jean-Michel Raimond is a French physicist working in the field of quantum mechanics.

Claude Fabre is a French physicist, professor at the École polytechnique and member of the Kastler-Brossel Laboratory at École normale supérieure.

The Three Physicists Prize is a physics prize awarded by the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris and the Eugène Bloch Foundation. It is named in honour of the physicists Henri Abraham, Eugene Bloch and Georges Bruhat, who were successive directors of the physics laboratory at the ENS and all of whom died in Nazi concentration camps between 1943 and 1945. The prize was established by Bloch's widow.

Kastler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

References

    See also

    An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens. They are selected by a difficult examination, with only 3% of candidates eventually admitted. ENS also offers master's degrees. They could be compared to "Institutes for Advanced Studies" and constitute the top level of research-training education in the French university system.

    Collège de France Higher education and research establishment

    The Collège de France, founded in 1530, is a higher education and research establishment in France. It is located in Paris, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne.