Linke's appointment to the faculty, which began this Fall, further strengthens the Duke Quantum Center His research centers around ion trapping, the technique of confining electrically charged atomic particles — ions — to a small area using electric fields.

Trapped ions are a gateway to more complex quantum systems. Unlike almost any object around us, particles at the atomic or subatomic level don't follow the classical laws of physics. Particles at the subatomic level operate according to their own laws, which involve probabilities rather than precisely quantifiable properties, making their behavior hard to predict.