Quantum control of molecules for fundamental physics

Abstract

The extraordinary success in laser cooling, trapping, and coherent manipulation of atoms has energized the efforts in extending this exquisite control to molecules. Not only are molecules ubiquitous in nature, but the control of their quantum states offers unparalleled access to fundamental constants and possible physics beyond the Standard Model. Quantum state manipulation of molecules can enable high-precision measurements including tests of fundamental symmetries and searches for new particles and fields. At the same time, their complex internal structure presents experimental challenges to overcome in order to gain sensitivity to new physics. In this Perspective, we review recent developments in this thriving new field. Moreover, throughout the text we discuss many current and future research directions that have the potential to place molecules at the forefront of fundamental science.

Perspective article

References in corpus (46)

• A High Phase-Space-Density Gas of Polar Molecules
• Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation of Molecules
• Measurement of the fine-structure constant as a test of the Standard Model
• An ${}^{27}$Al${}^{+}$ quantum-logic clock with systematic uncertainty below $10^{-18}$
• Measurement of the permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron
• Ultracold dense samples of dipolar RbCs molecules in the rovibrational and hyperfine ground state
• Magneto-optical trapping of a diatomic molecule
• Searching for dilaton dark matter with atomic clocks
• Precision Test of Mass Ratio Variations with Lattice-Confined Ultracold Molecules
• Precision Measurement of Time-Reversal Symmetry Violation with Laser-Cooled Polyatomic Molecules
• Radio Frequency Magneto-Optical Trapping of CaF with High Density
• Stability of the proton-to-electron mass ratio
• Magneto-Optical Trap for Polar Molecules
• Proton-Electron Mass Ratio from Laser Spectroscopy of HD${}^{+}$ at the Part-Per-Trillion Level
• Creation of ultracold Sr2 molecules in the electronic ground state
• Narrow Line Photoassociation in an Optical Lattice
• Ultracold Rb-OH collisions and prospects for sympathetic cooling
• Anisotropic Polarizability of Ultracold Polar ${}^{40}$K${}^{87}$Rb Molecules
• Rotational Coherence Times of Polar Molecules in Optical Tweezers
• Constraints on extra dimensions from precision molecular spectroscopy
• Characteristics of a magneto-optical trap of molecules
• Constraints on New Gravitylike Forces in the Nanometer Range
• Molecular assembly of ground state cooled single atoms
• Complete ${\alpha }^{6}m$ corrections to the ground state of H${}_2$
• Improved isotope-shift-based bounds on bosons beyond the Standard Model through measurements of the ${}^2$D${}_{3/2}{-}^2$D${}_{5/2}$ interval in Ca${}^{+}$
• Synthesis of mixed hypermetallic oxide BaOCa${}^{+}$ from laser-cooled reagents in an atom-ion hybrid trap
• Probing new spin-independent interactions through precision spectroscopy in atoms with few electrons
• Controlling the Rotational and Hyperfine State of Ultracold ${}^{87}$Rb${}^{133}$Cs Molecules
• Collisions Between Ultracold Molecules and Atoms in a Magnetic Trap
• Penning-trap mass measurements of the deuteron and the HD+ molecular ion
• A molecular fountain
• Efficient sympathetic motional ground-state cooling of a molecular ion
• Polarization Enhanced Deep Optical Dipole Trapping of $\Lambda$-cooled Polar Molecules
• Thermometry via Light Shifts in Optical Lattices
• Sympathetic cooling of molecular ion motion to the ground state
• Deviations from Born-Oppenheimer mass scaling in spectroscopy and ultracold molecular physics
• Principles and design of a Zeeman-Sisyphus decelerator for molecular beams
• Enhancement of the formation of ultracold ${}^{85}$Rb${}_2$ molecules due to resonant coupling
• High sensitivity to mass-ratio variation in deep molecular potentials
• Cooling of a Zero-Nuclear-Spin Molecular Ion to a Selected Rotational State
• Ultracold ${}^{88}{\mathrm{Sr}}_2$ molecules in the absolute ground state
• Magic Conditions for Multiple Rotational States of Bialkali Molecules in Optical Lattices
• Accuracy estimation of the 16O2+ transition frequencies targeting the search for the variation in mp/me
• Simulation of Cryogenic Buffer Gas Beams
• High-resolution 'magic'-field spectroscopy on trapped polyatomic molecules
• Rotational state-changing collisions between N${}_2^{+}$ and Rb at low energies