RII Track-4: Quantum Control of Molecular Interactions with External Electromagnetic Fields: From Few to Many-Body Physics

Board Of Regents, Nshe, Obo University Of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

Ultracold molecular gases hold potential for transformative applications across physics and chemistry, ranging from quantum information processing and quantum simulation of novel materials to probing and controlling chemical reactions with external electromagnetic fields. This proposal explores two exciting frontiers recently made available by pioneering experiments at the host institution (JILA Physics Frontier Center). First, we intend to explore how the relative orientation of approaching molecules affects the outcome of a molecular collision or chemical reaction. Second, we propose to study the properties of an artificial crystal of polar molecules in an optical lattice, an exquisite quantum-many body system recently realized experimentally at the host institution. The proposed research will enhance our understanding of how electrons behave in real materials (a key goal of modern condensed-matter physics and material science) and to novel ways to control chemical reactions with electromagnetic fields (an important goal of modern chemical physics). This proposal aims to address two outstanding open problems in the physics and chemistry of cold molecular gases: (i) the lack of understanding and control of quantum stereodynamics of low-temperature molecular collisions in the presence of external electromagnetic fields, and (ii) the nature of the phase diagram of an ultracold gas of chemically reactive polar molecules in an optical lattice recently created for the first time at the host institution (JILA Physics Frontier Center). Using numerically exact quantum theory of molecular collisions, we propose to elucidate the effects of external fields on the stereodynamics of cold molecular collisions, with a focus on Ne-OH collisions currently studied experimentally at JILA. We also plan, by taking advantage of recent developments in computational condensed-matter physics, to explore the phase diagram of the extended dissipative Fermi-Hubbard model of ultracold KRb molecules in a two-dimensional optical lattice. The proposed research may lead to new ways to control the quantum dynamics of molecular collisions and to engineer novel quantum many-body states with ultracold molecules in optical lattices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.