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Quantum physics

Atomic envoy enables molecular control

Nature volume 545, pages 164–165 (2017)Cite this article

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A technique for manipulating molecules uses an intermediary atom to query a nearby molecule's energy state and produces 'quantum superpositions' of these states, a prerequisite for extremely high-precision spectroscopy. See Letter p.203

Laser cooling and related techniques are routinely used to produce pure quantum states of atoms in the gas phase that enable the atoms to be measured and controlled with unprecedented precision. Put two atoms together in a molecule, however, and things become more than twice as difficult — the complexity of even simple molecules severely diminishes the effectiveness of tools based on repeated light scattering. But if an atomic ion is confined in the same electromagnetic trap as a molecular ion, as demonstrated last year by Wolf et al.1, the atom can be cleverly used as an envoy to facilitate indirect communication with the molecule. On page 203, Chou et al.2 extend this idea by cornering a molecule into a single quantum state using an atomic emissary, and then preparing and measuring quantum superpositions (in which the molecule is simultaneously in more than one energy state), while retaining the molecule for subsequent measurements. This type of control over quantum superpositions is the gold standard for manipulating isolated quantum systems, and is a necessary ingredient of extremely high-precision spectroscopy.

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Figure 1: Molecule manipulation.

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References

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  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Wes Campbell

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  1. Wes Campbell
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Correspondence to Wes Campbell.

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Campbell, W. Atomic envoy enables molecular control. Nature 545, 164–165 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/545164a

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