Exotic atoms and molecules articles within Nature Physics

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  • News & Views |

    Interacting emitters are the fundamental building blocks of quantum optics and quantum information devices. Pairs of organic molecules embedded in a crystal can become permanently strongly interacting when they are pumped with intense laser light.

    • Stuart J. Masson

  • Article |

    Raman sideband cooling is a method used to prepare atoms and ions in their vibrational ground state. This technique has now been extended to molecules trapped in optical tweezer arrays.

    • Yukai Lu
    • , Samuel J. Li
    •  & Lawrence W. Cheuk

  • News & Views |

    A promising pathway towards the laser cooling of a molecule containing a radioactive atom has been identified. The unique structure of such a molecule means that it can act as a magnifying lens to probe fundamental physics.

    • Steven Hoekstra

  • Article |

    The high inelastic loss rate in gases of bosonic molecules has so far hindered the stabilization needed to reach quantum degeneracy. Now, an experiment using microwave shielding demonstrates a large reduction of losses for bosonic dipolar molecules.

    • Niccolò Bigagli
    • , Claire Warner
    •  & Sebastian Will

  • Letter |

    Combinatorial optimization is one of the areas for which quantum computing promises to overcome classical devices. An experiment with arrays of Rydberg atoms now shows how to solve combinatorial graph problems with auxiliary atomic wires.

    • Minhyuk Kim
    • , Kangheun Kim
    •  & Jaewook Ahn

  • Review Article |

    The detailed structure of each atomic species determines what physics can be achieved with ultracold gases. This review discusses the exciting applications that follow from lanthanides’ complex electronic structure.

    • Matthew A. Norcia
    •  & Francesca Ferlaino

  • Letter |

    Ultrashort laser fields applied to a helium dimer are able to tune the interactions between two helium atoms. A video of the dimer’s response to this localized disturbance shows the effect of dissociation and alignment of the wave packets.

    • Maksim Kunitski
    • , Qingze Guan
    •  & Reinhard Dörner

  • Article |

    A weak-to-strong quantum measurement transition has been observed in a single-trapped-ion system, where the ion’s internal electronic state and its vibrational motion play the roles of the measured system and the measuring pointer.

    • Yiming Pan
    • , Jie Zhang
    •  & Nir Davidson

  • News & Views |

    Systems of neutral atoms are gradually gaining currency as a promising candidate for realizing large-scale quantum computing. The achievement of a record-high fidelity in quantum operation with alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms is a case in point.

    • Wenhui Li

  • Article |

    High entanglement fidelity between neutral atoms is achieved using highly excited Rydberg states. The unique electron structure provided by alkaline-earth atoms makes it a promising platform for various quantum-technology-based applications.

    • Ivaylo S. Madjarov
    • , Jacob P. Covey
    •  & Manuel Endres

  • Letter |

    Laser cooling of optically trapped diatomic molecules CaF to sub-Doppler temperatures has been achieved. The technique provides an alternative approach towards the production of ultracold polar molecules.

    • Loïc Anderegg
    • , Benjamin L. Augenbraun
    •  & John M. Doyle

  • Letter |

    Light fields of energy comparable to the Coloumb field that binds valence electrons in atoms generate states where nearly free electrons oscillate in the laser field. These are now shown to exist in rare gases, acting as gain for laser filamentation.

    • Mary Matthews
    • , Felipe Morales
    •  & Misha Ivanov

  • Letter |

    The roton energy spectrum, originally introduced by Landau, explains the thermodynamic behaviour of strongly interacting liquid helium at low temperature. Now, a similar spectrum has been observed in weakly interacting dipolar quantum gas.

    • L. Chomaz
    • , R. M. W. van Bijnen
    •  & F. Ferlaino

  • Letter |

    To gain insight into the properties of quantum matter, a superatom—an ensemble of strongly interacting atoms in the Rydberg blockade regime—is created and characterized by precisely controlling the density and Rydberg excitations.

    • T. M. Weber
    • , M. Höning
    •  & H. Ott

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