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arXiv:1202.1857 · Physical Review A

Sensitive imaging of electromagnetic fields with paramagnetic polar molecules

Sergey Alyabyshev, Mikhail Lemeshko, Roman V. Krems

Published Jul 13, 2012• 25 citations
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Abstract

We propose a method for sensitive parallel detection of low-frequency electromagnetic fields based on the fine structure interactions in paramagnetic polar molecules. Compared to the recently implemented scheme employing ultracold ${}^{87}$Rb atoms by B\"ohi et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 051101 (2010)], the technique based on molecules offers a 100-fold higher sensitivity, the possibility to measure both the electric and magnetic field components, and a probe of a wide range of frequencies from the dc limit to the THz regime.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.86.013409

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We propose a method for sensitive parallel detection of low-frequency electromagnetic fields based on the fine structure interactions in paramagnetic polar molecules. Compared to the recently implemented scheme employing ultracold 87{}^{87}87Rb atoms by B"ohi et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 051101 (2010)], the technique based on molecules offers a 100-fold higher sensitivity, the possibility to measure both the electric and magnetic field components, and a probe of a wide range of frequencies from the dc limit to the THz regime.
The research field of cold and ultracold atoms and molecules is rapidly growing and expanding into different areas of research such as quantum information science and condensed matter physics. The success of this field is due to the possibility of precisely controlling and manipulating atoms and molecules at low temperatures. The progress in this field relies on the development of new methods for controlling collisional dynamics and interactions of particles with electromagnetic fields. This Thesis describes research on modification of the collisional dynamics of ultracold atoms and molecules by external laser and microwave fields as well as new methods for the detection of weak electromagnetic fields. First, we study the scattering of atoms and molecules confined in a 2D geometry by optical lattices. In particular we develop a theory for scattering in 2D and derive the equations for the threshold dependence of the collision cross sections. We show that inelastic processes and chemical reactions can be suppressed under strong confinement in one dimension and can be controlled by varying the orientation of the external field with respect to the plane of confinement. Next, we present a rigorous theory of low-temperature molecular collisions in the presence of a microwave field. The microwave field can theoretically be used to trap and control polar molecules. The molecular collisions may lead to trap loss and decoherence. We develop a rigorous quantum theory for molecular scattering in the presence of microwave fields. We study inelastic, spin-changing molecular collisions and Feshbach resonances in the presence of microwave fields. We demonstrate that inelastic collisions accompanied by absorption of microwave photons can be significant. The detection of weak electromagnetic fields is very important for various applications ranging from fundamental measurements to biomagnetic imaging, and for tests of microwave chips. We present a method for the detection of weak electromagnetic fields in a wide range of frequencies from sub-kHz to THz with ultracold polar molecules. We show that using ultracold molecules one can achieve the sensitivity of two orders of magnitude larger than with a similar method based on ultracold Rb atoms.
Since external magnetic fields were first employed to deflect paramagnetic atoms in 1921, a range of magnetic field-based methods have been introduced to state-selectively manipulate paramagnetic species. These methods include magnetic guides, which selectively filter paramagnetic species from all other components of a beam, and magnetic traps, where paramagnetic species can be spatially confined for extended periods of time. However, many of these techniques were developed for atomic-rather than molecular-paramagnetic species. It has proven challenging to apply some of these experimental methods developed for atoms to paramagnetic molecules. Thanks to the emergence of new experimental approaches and new combinations of existing techniques, the past decade has seen significant progress toward the manipulation and control of paramagnetic molecules. This review identifies the key methods that have been implemented for the state-selective manipulation of paramagnetic molecules-discussing the motivation, state of the art, and future prospects of the field. Key applications include the ability to control chemical interactions, undertake precise spectroscopic measurements, and challenge our understanding of chemical reactivity at a fundamental level.
Arrays of trapped ultracold molecules represent a promising platform for implementing a universal quantum computer. DeMille [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 067901 (2002)] has detailed a prototype design based on Stark states of polar (1)Σ molecules as qubits. Herein, we consider an array of polar (2)Σ molecules which are, in addition, inherently paramagnetic and whose Hund's case (b) free-rotor pair-eigenstates are Bell states. We show that by subjecting the array to combinations of concurrent homogeneous and inhomogeneous electric and magnetic fields, the entanglement of the array's Stark and Zeeman states can be tuned and the qubit sites addressed. Two schemes for implementing an optically controlled CNOT gate are proposed and their feasibility discussed in the face of the broadening of spectral lines due to dipole-dipole coupling and the inhomogeneity of the electric and magnetic fields.
Ultracold polar molecules are an ideal platform for studying many-body physics with long-range dipolar interactions.Experiments in this field have progressed enormously, and several groups are pursuing advanced apparatus for manipulation of molecules with electric fields as well as single-atomresolved in situ detection.Such detection has become ubiquitous for atoms in optical lattices and tweezer arrays, but has yet to be demonstrated for ultracold polar molecules.Here we present a proposal for the implementation of site-resolved microscopy for polar molecules, and specifically discuss a technique for spin-resolved molecular detection.We use numerical simulation of spin dynamics of lattice-confined polar molecules to show how such a scheme would be of utility in a spindiffusion experiment.
We present a rigorous study of cold and ultracold collisions of $\mathrm{Yb}\mathrm{F}(^{2}\ensuremath{\Sigma})$ molecules with He atoms in external electric and magnetic fields based on an accurate calculation of the interaction potential surface and quantum theory of atom-molecule scattering. We analyze the mechanisms of collisional depolarization of the electron and nuclear spins of YbF and demonstrate that the rate constants for elastic and inelastic collisions of YbF with He are sensitive to the magnitudes of the applied fields. Collisions of heavy polar molecules like YbF may thus be easily manipulated with external electromagnetic fields. We show that collisional spin relaxation of YbF molecules in rotationally excited states is suppressed by electric fields much more significantly than the spin relaxation in the ground rotational state. We explain this by the influence of electric-field-induced Feshbach resonances, which occur at much lower collision energies when the molecule is rotationally excited. Our results suggest that heavy polar molecules may be amenable to magnetic trapping in a buffer gas of He, which could greatly enhance the sensitivity of spectroscopic experiments to measure the electric dipole moment of the electron.
We probe resonant dipolar interactions between ultracold ^{40}K^{87}Rb molecules and Rydberg ^{87}Rb atoms in an optically trapped ensemble. Through state-selective ionization detection of the KRb molecules, we observe resonant energy transfer at 2.227 GHz from Rydberg atoms to molecules under a tunable external electric field. We measure a broadening up to 3.5 MHz, for the Rb Rydberg excitation spectrum, which matches a Monte Carlo simulation that describes a Rydberg atom and neighboring molecules evolving under a dipole-dipole interacting Hamiltonian. The demonstrated interspecies dipolar interaction is a key ingredient for hybrid Rydberg-polar molecule systems, where the advantages of each system can be leveraged and combined.