The Willitsch Group - Cold and Controlled Molecules and Ions
Welcome to the Cold and Controlled Molecules and Ions group at the University of Basel led by Prof. Stefan Willitsch and the astrochemistry subgroup led by Dr Jutta Toscano. Our research is concerned with the preparation and control of cold molecules and molecular ions and their applications in both chemistry and physics. On this website, you can find information about our group, our research, our teaching and opportunities to join us.
Recent News
Congratulations to Christian on the successful defense of his PhD thesis, titled “A Novel Hybrid Trap for Cold Ion–Neutral Collisions”.
Congratulations to Nanditha on receiving the Best Poster Award at the SASP 2026 held in Obergurgl, Austria.
Congratulations to Aleksandr on receiving the Amat-Mills Award for the best contribution at the HRMS meeting in Köln, Germany.
Our group
Research
Teaching
Open positions
PhD position in molecular-ion quantum technologies and precision spectroscopy
More information
Recent publications
P. Paliwal, J. Toscano and S. Willitsch,
“Control of Chemical Reactions in Radiofrequency Ion Traps”
Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 2026, 77, 465–488. (arXiv:2510.09298)
A. Shlykov, M.L. Diouf, R. Karl, M. Roguski, U.C. Joshi and S. Willitsch,
“Quantum-logic spectroscopy of forbidden vibrational transitions in single nitrogen molecular ions”
(arxiv.org/abs/2603.10553) (supporting data at https://zenodo.org/records/18935655)
L. Xu, R. Karl, J. Toscano and S. Willitsch,
“Isomer- and State-dependent Ion–Molecule Reactions Between Coulomb-crystallised Ca⁺ Ions and 1,2-Dichloroethene”
Molecular Physics. e2610009 (arXiv:2509.08791)
R. Karl, M. Diouf, A. Shlykov, M. Roguski and S. Willitsch,
“Automation in quantum logic experiments with cold molecular ions”
(arXiv: 2510.2758)
M. Weegen, P.N. Fountas, M. Poggio and S. Willitsch,
“Experimental Implementation of an Ion-Nanowire Hybrid System”
Rev. Sci. Intrum. 96 (2025), 063203 (supporting data at https://zenodo.org/records/14729559)