Quantum State Engineering and Quantum Information Processing with Ultra-Cold Polar Molecules

这个项目的智力价值在于探索如何利用超冷双原子极性分子丰富的内部结构，设计出高度可调的量子模拟器/计算机。极性分子具有一个永久的偶极矩，它可以在外场的作用下被操纵，并且可以导致长程的各向异性相互作用。我们将考虑捕获在光学晶格中的极性分子的二维和一维阵列。其主要思想是利用分子的旋转修饰态作为量子模拟器/计算机的自旋(量子比特)自由度，这种旋转修饰态可以很容易地被外部直流电场和连续微波场操纵和控制。直接偶极相互作用将被用来耦合自旋，这种相互作用比使用中性原子可以实现的强几个数量级。目标是研究如何使用这个系统来设计物质的拓扑态，模拟用于描述真实材料中的磁性的模型，以及其他可能没有固态类似物的模型，以及处理量子信息。这项工作的更广泛影响部分来自教育和推广方面，包括研究生和博士后的培训。这些学生还将受益于与JILA的实验小组互动，这些实验小组在计划的研究领域处于世界领先地位。除此之外，研究人员将继续为社区外展项目做出贡献，例如公开讲座和可访问的物理文章。他们还将通过组织研讨会、担任审查小组成员和专业委员会成员的方式，保持对物理界的重要服务水平。该项目包含跨学科的科学，涉及将双碱性极性分子的独特原子结构应用于高度可控的量子模拟器的设计。这些模拟器一方面能够处理量子信息(QI科学)，另一方面能够产生对固态系统物理的基本见解，例如铜酸盐超导体、过渡金属氧化物和几何受挫的磁性绝缘体(材料科学)。

The intellectual merit of this project is to exploit how to take advantage of the rich internal structure of ultra-cold diatomic polar molecules, towards the design of a highly tunable quantum simulator/computer. Polar molecules possess a permanent dipole moment,which can be manipulated with external fields, and which can lead to long-range anisotropic interactions. Two dimensional and one dimensional arrays of polar molecules trapped in optical lattices will be considered. The main idea is to use rotational dressed states of the molecules, which can be easily manipulated and controlled by external dc electric fields and by continuous microwave fields, as the spin (qubit) degrees of freedom of the quantum simulator/computer. Direct dipolar interactions, which are orders of magnitude stronger than those achievable using neutral atoms, will be used to coupled the spins. The goal is to investigate how to use this system to engineer topological states of matter, to simulate models used to describe magnetism in real materials, as well as others that may have no solid state analogs, and to process quantum information.The broader impacts of this work arise,in part, from the educational and outreach aspects, including the training of graduate students and postdocs. These students will benefit from interacting also with experimental groups at JILA that are world-leaders in the planned research areas. Beyond this, the investigators will continue to contribute to community outreach programs, such as public lectures and accessible physics articles. They will also maintain a significant level of service to the physics community through organizing workshops, serving on review panels, and memberships on professional committees. This project contains interdisciplinary science involving application of the unique atomic structure of bi-alkali polar molecules towards the design of highly-controllable quantum simulators. These simulators are capable, on the one hand, of processing quantum information (QI science), and on the other hand, of generating fundamental insights into the physics of solid state systems, such as cuprate superconductors, transition metal oxides and geometrically frustrated magnetic insulators (material sciences).