Towards cavity-controlled ultracold chemistry
G. Valtolina, J. Seifert, M. Duerbeck, S. Schaller, G. Meijer
Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Ultracold molecules hold great potential for future quantum technologies but chemical reactions have so far hampered their applications1. Recently, the development of several shielding methods has enabled the stabilization of molecular quantum gases against chemical reactions2,3,4.
This approach allowed the attainment of quantum degeneracy in quantum gas of fermionic molecules by evaporative cooling2. Leveraging on these results, we are building a new experimental apparatus with ultracold bosonic molecules strongly coupled to an optical cavity. Cavity-control of ultracold reactions offers new opportunities for the creation of a stable, strongly dipolar gas of bosonic molecules at high density.
[1] S. Ospelkaus et al. Science 327 (5967), 853-857 (2010)
[2] G. Valtolina et al. Nature 588 (7837), 239-243 (2020)
[3] K. Matsuda, et al. Science 370 (6522), 1324-1327 (2020)
[4] J.R. Li et al. Nature Physics 17 (10), 1144-1148 (2021)