The division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (AMOP) at the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is one of the central parts of the State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics. It was established under the guidance of earlier generation of physicists Prof. Wang Tianjuan, Prof. Zhang Chengxiu and Academician Ye Chaohui. The AMOP division aims at the frontier scientific issues on atomic, molecular and closely related optical physics. The main research topics include: cold atom physics, quantum degenerated gases, ultrafast processes in atoms and molecules, quantum information on ion trap, molecular spectroscopy and molecular dynamics, single molecular chemistry and physics on surfaces, and quantum optomechanics. The center for cold atom physics, CAS, jointly established by our research division and Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, CAS, has become China's key research institute for cold atom physics.

There are 8 professor-level staffs, 14 associate professor-level staffs and 18 assistant researchers in AMOP division. 50 graduate students and 5 postdoctoral researchers are studying or working in AMOP division. There are a whole family of advanced laser systems in the laboratory, such as various continuum wave (CW) lasers (Ti:Sa and diode laser), pulsed lasers with different pulse durations (ns and fs). The state-of-the-art spectroscopic analysis and detection instruments are also available in the laboratory. In addition, there are several self-made experimental apparatus, on which experiments on cold atom trapping (MOT and BEC), ion trap (single ion and multiple ions), atomic and molecular dynamics in ultrafast intense laser field, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, ultrahigh-resolution photoemission spectroscopy, and photoelectron and ion velocity imaging can be performed.

The AMOP division is presently funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program), the major and key programs from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and so on.

The main research achievements are as follows: Realized the precision measurement of the gravity by self-made cold atom interferometer; Realized trapping a single atom and rotating single atoms in a ring lattice; Realized guiding and manipulation of cold atoms on atom chips; Revealed the atomic/molecular structures as well as the electron correlation effects in the dynamics of atoms and molecules subject to ultrafast intense laser pulses; Real-time observation and control of the dynamics of excited states in molecular photochemical reaction process. The AMOP division has obtained one Provincial Highest Award for Natural Science and Technology, has published 160 papers in SCI cited journals, and has filed 10 Chinese Invention Patents.