Personal Background

Stephen B. Libby is the Theory and Modeling Group Leader in the Physics Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His current research is devoted to novel quantum coherent technologies and high energy density physics. The work on quantum devices involves the development of high precision atom interferometer gravity and gyroscopic sensors for security and navigation applications in collaboration with AOSense, work with the NIST ion storage quantum information group on improved ion trap gate physics, and ‘home grown’ LLNL quantum computing. In high-energy-density physics, he co-developed accurate, highly accelerated algorithms for non-equilibrium radiation transfer. He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1972, and his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1977 as a student of David J. Gross. He performed postdoctoral work at the Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at SUNY at Stony Brook and worked as a research assistant professor at Brown University. During this period, he worked on quantum chromodynamics, developing key factorization theorems with George Sterman, and the theory of quantum Hall effect transport, discovering the scaling theory with Herbert Levine and Aad Pruisken. Beginning work in applied physics in 1986 at LLNL, he focused on x-ray laser research, becoming the design group and program leader. He was also a consulting professor at Stanford University from 1992–1994. He served at the Department of Energy (DOE) as the Defense Programs LLNL "Science Council" member and in the Advanced Strategic Computing Office. He was also a member of the National Research Council "Rare Isotope Science" committee. He was awarded a DOE Defense Programs Excellence Award in 2014 for work on equations of state. Libby is a fellow of the American Physical Society and holds a certificate in international security from Stanford University.  He became  an LLNL Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 2022.

Ph.D., Physics, Princeton University, 1977

B.A., Harvard University, 1972

View a full list of publications on Google Scholar.

G. Krueper, C. Yu, S. B. Libby, R. Mellors, L. Cohen, and J. T. Gopinath, Realistic Model of Entanglement-Enhanced Sensing in Optical Fiber, Optics Express, Vol. 30, 6/14, (2022)

E. P. Hartouni, R. M. Bionta, M. J. Eckart, J. E. Field, G. P. Grim, K. D. Hahn, R. Hatarik, J. Jeet, S. M. Kerr, S. B. Libby, A. S. Moore, D. H. Munro, and D. J. Schlossberg, Optimal choice of multiple line-of-sight measurements determining plasma hotspot velocity at the National Ignition Facility, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92, 023513 (2021).

R. T. Sutherland, S. C. Burd, D. H. Slichter, S. B. Libby, and D. Leibfried, Motional squeezing for trapped ion transport and separation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 083201, (2021).

Y. Shi, A. R. Castelli, X. Wu, I. Joseph, V. Geyko, F. R. Graziani, S. B. Libby, J. B. Parker, Y. J. Rosen, L. A. Martinez, and J. L DuBois, “Simulating nonnative cubic interactions on noisy quantum machines”, Physical Review A, 103, 062608 (2021).

D. M. Ceperley and S. B. Libby, Berni Alder, Theoretical Physicist and Inventor of Molecular Dynamics, 1925-2020, Retrospective, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118, No. 11, (2021).

G. E. Kemp, M. S. Rubery, C. D. Harris, M. J. May, K. Widmann, R. F. Heeter, S. B. Libby, M. B. Schneider, and B. E. Blue, A genetic algorithm approach to reconstructing spectral content from filtered x-ray diode array spectrometers, Review of Scientific Instruments 91, 083507 (2020).

R. T. Sutherland, R. Srinivas, S. C. Burd , H. M. Knaack, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, D. T. C. Allcock, D. H. Slichter, and S. B. Libby, Laser-free trapped-ion entangling gates with simultaneous insensitivity to qubit and motional decoherence, Physical Review A 101, 042334 (2020).

R. T. Sutherland, R. Srinivas, S. C. Burd, D. Leibfried, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. T. C. Allcock, D. H. Slichter, S. B. Libby, Versatile laser-free trapped-ion entangling gates, New Journal of Physics 21, (2019) 033033.

B. Dubetsky, S. B. Libby, and P. R. Berman, “Atom Interferometry in the Presence of an External Test Mass,” Atoms 2016, 4, 14; doi:10.3390/atoms4020014. ArXiv:1601.00355.

D. Popmintchev, C. Hernández-García, F. Dollar, C. Mancuso, J. A. Pérez-Hernández, M. - C. Chen, A. Hankla, X. Gao, B. Shim, A. L. Gaeta, M. Tarazkar, D. A. Romanov, Robert J. Levis, J. A. Gaffney, M. Foord, S. B. Libby, A. Jaron-Becker, A. Becker, L. Plaja, M. M. Murnane, H. C. Kapteyn, T. Popmintchev, “Ultraviolet Surprise: Efficient Soft X-ray High Harmonic Generation in Multiply-Ionized Plasmas,” Science, Vol. 350, # 6265, 1225-1231, (2015).

D. D. Hickstein, W. Xiong, F. Dollar, J. A. Gaffney, M. E. Foord, G. M. Petrov, B. B. Palm, K. E. Keister, J. L. Ellis, C. Ding, S. B. Libby, J. L. Jimenez, H. C. Kapteyn, M. M. Murnane, “Observation and Control of Shock Structures in Individual Nanoplamas,” Physical Review Letters, Vol. 112, #11, 115004, (2014).

G. Faussurier, S. B. Libby, P. L. Silvestrelli, “The viscosity to entropy ratio: From string theory motivated bounds to warm dense matter,” High Energy Density Physics, Vol. 12, 21-26, (2014).

M. C. Levy, S. C. Wilks, M. Tabak, S. B. Libby, and M. G. Baring, “Petawatt laser absorption bounded,” Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Art. 4149, (2014).

J. A. Gaffney, D. Clark, V. Sonnad, S. B. Libby, “Development of a Bayesian method for the analysis of inertial confinement fusion experiments on the NIF, Nuclear Fusion 53, 073032, (2013).

D. A. Liedahl, A. Rubenchik, S. B. Libby, S. Nikolaev, C. R. Phipps, “Pulsed Laser Interactions with Space Debris: Target Shape Effects,” Advances in Space Research, Volume 52, Issue 5, pp. 895-915, (2013).

C. R. Phipps, K. L. Baker, S. B. Libby, D. A. Liedahl, S. S. Olivier, L. D. Pleasance, A. Rubenchik, J. E. Trebes, E. V. George, B. Marcovici, J. P. Reilly, and M. T. Valley, “Removing Orbital Debris With Lasers,” Advances in Space Research, Vol. 49, # 9, 1283–1300 (2012).

S. B. Libby, V. Sonnad, S. A. Kreek, K. W. Brady, M. R. Matthews, B. Dubetsky, A. Vitouchkine, B. C. Young, “Feasibility Study of a Passive, Stand-off Detector of High-Density Masses with a Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry,” LLNL-TR-465878, 2011.

S. B. Libby and A. M. Sessler, “Edward Teller Biographical Memoir,” in the Proceedings of The Edward Teller Centennial Symposium, World Scientific, Singapore, (2010).

S. B. Libby and M. S. Weiss, “Edward Teller’s Science,” Physics Today, 57, 8, 45-50, (2004). 

R. M. More, G. Faussurier, S. B. Libby, and T. Kato, “Atomic Processes in Near Equilibrium Plasmas,” Journal of Quant. Spect. & Rad. Transfer, 71, (2-6), (2001), 505-518.

S. B. Libby, F. Graziani, R. M. More, T. Kato, “Systematic Investigation of NLTE Phenomena in the Limit of Small Departures from LTE,” in “13th International Conf. on Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena,” Monterey, CA, 1997, AIP Conf. Proc. No. 406, (1998).

E. M. Campbell, N. C. Holmes, S. B. Libby, B. A. Remington, E. Teller, "The Evolution of High Energy Density Physics: from Nuclear Testing to the Superlasers," Lasers and Particle Beams, (1997), Vol. 15, No. 4, 607.

L. B. Da Silva, T. W. Barbee, Jr., R. Cauble, P. Celliers, D. Ciarlo, S. Libby, R. A. London, D. L. Matthews, S. Mrowka, J. C. Moreno, D. Ress, J. E. Trebes, A. Wan, F. Weber, "Electron Density Measurements of High Density Plasmas Using Soft X-Ray Laser Interferometry," Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, (1995), 3991.

S. B. Libby, Z. Zou, and R. B. Laughlin, "Non-Abelian Monopoles in the 3-Dimensional Chiral Spin Liquid," Nuclear Physics B 348 FS, (1991) 693.

R. B. Laughlin, M. L. Cohen, J. M. Kosterlitz, H. Levine, S. B. Libby, and A. Pruisken, "Scaling of Conductivities in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect," Phys. Rev. B 32, (1985) 1311.

H. Levine, and S. B. Libby, "Renormalization of the Theta Angle, the Quantum Hall Effect and the Strong CP Problem," Phys. Lett. 150B, (1985) 182.

H. Levine, and S. B. Libby, "Renormalization of the Theta Angle, the Quantum Hall Effect and the Strong CP Problem," Phys. Lett. 150B, (1985) 182.

H.  Levine, S. B. Libby, and A. Pruisken, "Theory of the Quantized Hall Effect I, II, III" Nucl. Phys. B 240 FS12, (1984) 30, 49, 71.

H. Levine, S. B. Libby, and A. Pruisken, "Electron Delocalization by a Magnetic Field in Two Dimensions," Phys. Rev. Lett. 51, (1983) 1915.

S. B. Libby and G. Sterman, "Mass Divergences in Two Particle Inelastic Scattering," Phys. Rev. D 18, (1978) 4737.

S. B. Libby and G. Sterman, "Jet and Lepton Pair Production in High Energy Lepton-Hadron and Hadron-Hadron Scattering," Phys. Rev. D 18, (1978) 3252.

Edited Conference Proceedings

“The Edward Teller Centennial Symposium,” Stephen B. Libby & Karl A. Van Bibber, Eds., The Bankhead Theater, Livermore, CA, May 28, 2008; World Scientific, Singapore, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1142/7154.

“Advances in the Computational Sciences,” E. Schwegler, B. M. Rubenstein, S. B. Libby, Eds., Proceedings of the Symposium in Honor of Dr. Berni Alder’s 90th Birthday, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 20 August 2015, World Scientific, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1142/10432.

• Fellow of the American Physical Society –  1999
• Putnam Fellowship – Princeton University – 1972, 1973
• DOE Defense Programs Excellence Award – 2014
• Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff (LLNL) - 2022

Stanford University:  Certificate in International Security (Institute for International Studies) 2002–2003.