About

QSUM (Quantum Sensing & Ultracold Matter) Lab

Our lab takes advantage of existing infrastructure at UNB to realize several new experiments with laser-cooled atoms. Our research focusses on both fundamental and applied aspects of quantum sensors based on matter-wave interferometry, including:

  • ultra-stable lasers

  • new atomic diffraction techniques

  • large momentum transfer atom optics

  • high-accuracy measurements of gravitational and magnetic fields

  • multi-axis inertial sensing

  • positioning, navigation, and timing

Working with cold-atom-based instruments presents several unique opportunities for students to learn modern techniques in both engineering and experimental physics.

Some examples include designing modern laser systems, developing low-noise electronics, assembling ultra-high vacuum systems, constructing opto-mechanical hardware, writing instrument control and data acquisition software, advanced image analysis, and numerical modelling of quantum phenomena.

Brynle Barrett

Group Leader

After almost a decade working in France with leading experts in cold atoms, quantum sensing, and inertial navigation, Prof. Brynle (Brinley) Barrett joined the UNB physics department and established the QSUM lab in 2021.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, he completed his BSc at Saint Mary’s in 2005, and subsequently moved to Toronto for his PhD studies at York University in the field of laser cooling and precision measurements with atom interferometry. In 2012, he joined the group of Philippe Bouyer and Baptiste Battelier at LP2N in Bordeaux. As a post-doc, he worked primarily on the ICE experiment where he helped realize the first tests of the Einstein’s equivalence principle with cold atoms in microgravity. In 2015, he joined the French tech company iXblue (now Exail) — experts in optical gyroscopes, photonic components, and inertial navigation. There, he led the development of a three-axis quantum accelerometer in collaboration with LP2N, and co-wrote several patents on quantum technologies.

For a full list of publications, visit Google Scholar or Research Gate.

Outside the lab, Brynle can be found playing ultimate frisbee, dabbling on the drums, or chasing after his two young boys!

Funding Sources