Open Postdoctoral position, faculty mentor Philip Bucksbaum

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a collaborative experiment–theory program investigating electron–ion entanglement in the photoionization of small molecules driven by extremely intense laser fields. The successful candidate will be based at Stanford University in the group of Prof. Philip H. Bucksbaum, working in close partnership with Prof. Mohammed Th. Hassan group at the University of Arizona and with the strong-field theory group of Prof. Carla Faria at UCL.

The project is supported by the Division of Chemistry at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the newly launched $10 million NSF–UKRI collaborative research initiative in quantum chemistry, which pairs leading U.S. and U.K. groups to address foundational questions at the interface of quantum information science and chemical physics.

Scientific Scope

Photoionization is conventionally treated as a process that produces an independent photoelectron and a residual ion. In reality, the two fragments emerge in a correlated quantum state, and the degree of entanglement between them governs the coherence of the ionic wavepacket and therefore the subsequent charge migration and molecular dynamics. This program aims to:

• Bright squeezed light genenration and characterization
• Quantify electron–ion entanglement and ionic coherence in small molecules following strong-field ionization, using coincidence and correlation measurements.
• Map how entanglement depends on laser intensity, wavelength, pulse duration, and carrier-envelope phase, and on the number and character of the accessible ionic channels.
• Explore the use of non-classical driving light, including bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) and other quantum states of light, as a new control knob over the ionization process and the resulting correlations.
• Confront the measurements with the ab initio and analytical strong-field theory developed by the UCL partner group, closing the loop between experiment and theory.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate intense ultrafast laser experiments and the associated ultrahigh-vacuum molecular beam apparatus.
• Perform electron and ion coincidence measurements (e.g., VMI, TOF, and/or reaction-microscope-type detection) and develop the analysis pipelines for correlated multi-particle data.
• Contribute to the implementation and characterization of quantum-light sources for strong-field driving.
• Collaborate closely with theory partners at UCL and with the Arizona group; travel between partner institutions is expected and supported.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed journals, present at international conferences, and contribute to mentoring graduate and undergraduate students.