Vortrag im Rahmen des University of Vienna Physics Colloquiums
Molecules promise a large variety of applications ranging from precision measurement science to cold chemistry to many-body physics. A major requirement towards realizing these applications is the precise control of molecules and their internal quantum states. To achieve this, important recent advances have been made in the cooling, trapping and manipulation of molecules using laser cooling techniques [1]. I will present three lines of research that exemplify the rapid progress in this field.
First, I will present our recent demonstration of laser cooling of barium monofluoride molecules, which are promising sensors for many different types of precision measurements [2]. I will discuss how to realize novel laser cooling schemes in this complex species, which pave the way for studies of particle and nuclear physics in a tabletop experiment.
Second, I will present an experiment aiming at laser cooling calcium monofluoride molecules to quantum degeneracy. In this regime, tunable interactions between the molecules will allow the exploration of dipolar many-body physics and quantum simulations. In particular, I will highlight the unique possibilities that such strongly dipolar molecular systems open up for the study of supersolid states of matter, which show both superfluid and solid properties at the same time [3,4].
Finally, I will introduce a new approach to realize optical tweezers for single atoms and molecules, which is based on micrometer-scale lenses that are 3D printed directly onto the tip of standard optical fibers [5]. Their compactness and simplicity make these tweezers promising components for future portable quantum devices, such as single-photon sources and optical clocks.
[1] T. Langen, G. Valtolina, D. Wang, and J. Ye, Nature Phys. 20, 702 (2024).
[2] M. Rockenhäuser, F. Kogel, T. Garg, S. A. Morales-Ramírez, and T. Langen, Phys. Rev. Res. 6, 043161 (2024).
[3] T. Langen, Physics Today 75, 3, 36 (2022).
[4] M. Schmidt, L. Lassablière, G. Quéméner and T. Langen, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 013235 (2022).
[5] P. Ruchka, S. Hammer, M. Rockenhäuser, R. Albrecht, J. Drozella, S. Thiele, H. Giessen, and T. Langen, Quantum Sci. Technol. 7, 045011 (2022).
A light lunch buffet will be offered before the lecture at around 13:00.
