(DURIP) EQUIPMENT FOR MOLECULAR QUANTUM SIMULATOR
Abstract
The principles of quantum mechanics are already utilized in everyday devices- Atomic clocks based on the quantum-mechanical spin of cesium atoms are essential for GPS, and the microscopic transistors in modern electronics make use of quantum tunneling. However, our utilization of quantum mechanics in modern technologies omits one of its most striking features- entanglement. Quantum entanglement is capable of encoding exponentially more information than classical correlations in systems of the same size, making it an untapped resource for information processing. However, quantum correlations are also fragile, and can be scrambled by weak interactions of a system with its surroundings. In the intermediate term, devices are sought that make use of quantum entanglement while not yet achieving full fault-tolerance. Quantum simulators are a realistic near-term prospect for useful entanglement-enabled devices. High-quality quantum simulators can open doors to a range of practical applications such as material design and elucidation of chemical processes. A wide variety of platforms are being pursued for quantum simulation. Amongst them, ultracold polar molecules are an appealing prospect due to their intrinsic tunable interactions and rich internal degrees of freedom. For example, their fully controllable long range dipole-dipole interactions can be used to emulate quantum magnetism. We proposed and pursued optical trap arrays of assembled ultracold polar molecules to gain full quantum state control at the single-particle level, a route we chose toward demonstrating entangling arrays of molecules in our 2019 AFOSR funded proposal Entangling Ultracold Molecules. Recently, we have demonstrated all the necessary steps to assemble one single NaCs molecule from two atoms and translate all the quantum control of the atoms to the corresponding molecules. Building on such a demonstration, extending from one molecules to many more (5-100) is an exciting prospect that is within reach. Our investigations demonstrate that ground-state molecular assembly in optical tweezer arrays is a compelling path towards quantum science with ultracold polar molecules. Along the way, we identify key challenges to creating larger arrays of ground-state molecules with high fidelity. We aim to meet these challenges with the necessary equipment that we propose to acquire. This includes implementing tweezers (in 2D) and optical lattices (in 1D and 3D) to combine flexible control with uniform and low-scattering trapping potentials in an advanced apparatus, electric manipulations of molecules and direct detection of molecules using new schemes with Rydberg atoms. The latter goal is supported by our 2020 AFOSR MURI funded project New approaches to quantum control with individual molecule sensitivity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210067
Entities
People
- Kang-Kuen Ni
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- President and Fellows of Harvard College
- United States Air Force