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Quantum state manipulation and cooling of ultracold molecules

Nature Physics volume 20, pages 702–712 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

In recent years, an increasingly large variety of molecular species have been successfully cooled to low energies, and innovative techniques continue to emerge to reach ever more precise control of molecular motion. In this Review, we focus on two widely employed cooling techniques that have brought molecular gases into the quantum regime: association of ultracold atoms into quantum gases of molecules and direct laser cooling of molecules. These advances have brought into reality the capability to prepare and manipulate both internal and external states of molecules on a quantum mechanical level, opening the field of cold molecules to a wide range of scientific explorations.

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Fig. 1: Preparation of ultracold molecules from ultracold atoms.
Fig. 2: Laser cooling of molecules.
Fig. 3: Internal state control and single-molecule rotational coherence.
Fig. 4: Controlling molecular interactions.
Fig. 5: Advances in controlling intermediate-scale molecular systems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Aggarwal, B. Augenbraun, L. Liu and A. M. Rey for comments and suggestions on the paper. T.L. acknowledges support from Carl Zeiss Foundation, the RiSC programme of the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg, and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 949431). G.V. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the European Union (ERC, LIRICO 101115996). D.W. is supported by Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund (grants no. 14301818 and no. 14301119) and Collaborative Research Fund (grant no. C6009-20GF). J.Y. acknowledges support from ARO and AFOSR MRUI, and NIST.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 5. Physikalisches Institut and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Tim Langen

  2. Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria

    Tim Langen

  3. Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany

    Giacomo Valtolina

  4. Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Dajun Wang

  5. JILA and Department of Physics, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Jun Ye

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Langen, T., Valtolina, G., Wang, D. et al. Quantum state manipulation and cooling of ultracold molecules. Nat. Phys. 20, 702–712 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02423-1

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