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arXiv:2508.04949 · Physical Review A

High-efficiency quantum-state detection of ThF + with resonance-enhanced multiphoton asymmetric dissociation

Kia Boon Ng, Sun Yool Park, Anzhou Wang, Addison Hartman, Patricia Hector Hernandez, Rohan Kompella, Lan Cheng, S. Malbrunot-Ettenauer, Jun Ye, Eric Cornell

Published Nov 6, 2025• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Efficient quantum-state detection is crucial for many precision control experiments, such as the ongoing effort to probe the electron's electric dipole moment using trapped molecular ThF + 232 ions at JILA. While quantum-state detection through state-selective photodissociation has been successfully implemented on this molecule, progress has been hindered by low dissociation efficiency. In this work, we perform spectroscopy on the molecule to identify excited states that facilitate more efficient photodissociation. For the most favorable transition, we achieve a dissociation efficiency of 57(14)% with quantum-state selectivity. Additionally, we discuss several state detection protocols that leverage favorable excited states that will facilitate simultaneous readout of all EDM relevant states, allowing further improvement of overall statistics.

DOI
10.1103/mzd6-9kml

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