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Single particle acts as a quantum computer to simulate molecules

Davide Castelvecchi

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A trapped ytterbium ion can be used to model complex changes in the energy levels of organic molecules interacting with light.

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Simulating Quantum Spin Models with Trapped Ytterbium Ions1^11
Gas-phase singly protonated organic molecules of mass 410 Da (Alexa Fluor 350) have been cooled from ambient temperature to the hundred millikelvin range by Coulomb interaction with laser-cooled barium ions. The molecules were generated by an electrospray ionization source, transferred to and stored in a radio-frequency trap together with the atomic ions. Observations are well described by molecular dynamics simulations, which are used to determine the spatial distribution and thermal energy of the molecules. In one example, an ensemble of 830 laser-cooled 138Ba+ ions cooled 200 molecular ions to less than 115 mK. The demonstrated technique should allow a large variety of protonated molecules to be sympathetically cooled, including molecules of much higher mass, such as proteins.
The trapped 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+ ion is a promising candidate for portable atomic clock applications. However, with buffer-gas cooled ytterbium ions, the ions can be pumped into a low-lying 2F7/2^{2}F_{7/2}2F7/2​ state or form YbH+{\mathrm{YbH}}^{+}YbH+ molecules. These dark states reduce the fluorescence signal from the ions and can degrade the clock stability. In this work, we study the dynamics of the populations of the 2F7/2^{2}F_{7/2}2F7/2​ state and YbH+{\mathrm{YbH}}^{+}YbH+ molecules under different operating conditions of our 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+ ion system. Our study indicates that 2F7/2^{2}F_{7/2}2F7/2​-state ions can form YbH+{\mathrm{YbH}}^{+}YbH+ molecules through interactions with hydrogen gas. As observed previously, dissociation of YbH+{\mathrm{YbH}}^{+}YbH+ is observed at wavelengths around 369 nm. We also demonstrate YbH+{\mathrm{YbH}}^{+}YbH+ dissociation using 405 nm light. Moreover, we show that the population in the dark states can be limited by using a single repump laser at 935 nm. Our study provides insights into the molecular formation in a trapped ion system.
Whether many-body objects like organic molecules can exhibit full quantum behaviour, including entanglement, is an open fundamental question. We present a generic theoretical protocol for entangling two organic molecules, such as dibenzoterrylene in anthracene. The availability of organic dye molecules with two-level energy structures characterised by sharp and intense emission lines are characteristics that position them favourably as candidates for quantum information processing technologies involving single-photons. Quantum entanglement can in principle be generated between several organic molecules by carefully interfering their photoluminescence spectra. Major milestones have been achieved in the last 10 years showcasing entanglement in diverse systems including ions, cold atoms, superconductors, photons, quantum dots and NV-centres in diamond, but not yet in molecules.