Perspective: Ultracold molecules and the dawn of cold controlled chemistry

Abstract

Ultracold molecules offer unprecedented opportunities for the controlled interrogation of molecular events, including chemical reactivity in the ultimate quantum regime. The proliferation of methods to create, cool, and confine them has allowed the investigation of a diverse array of molecular systems and chemical reactions at temperatures where only a single partial wave contributes. Here we present a brief account of recent progress on the experimental and theoretical fronts on cold and ultracold molecules and the opportunities and challenges they provide for a fundamental understanding of bimolecular chemical reaction dynamics.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 17, 2016
Source ID
10.1063/1.4964096

Entities

People

  • N Balakrishnan

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • Division of Physics
  • University of Nevada, Reno

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry
  • Physics

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Quantum Computing