NSF-BSF: Elucidating Interactions between Multiple Optical Cycling Centers in Hypermetallic Polyatomic Molecules

NSF-BSF：阐明超金属多原子分子中多个光学循环中心之间的相互作用

• 批准号: 2110489
• 负责人: Michael McCarthy
• 金额: $ 49.05万
• 依托单位: Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2110489&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; BSF; Elucidating; Interactions; between

Laser-cooled molecules are a powerful tool for exploring the frontiers of quantum science and ultracold physics, provided their energy can be cooled in all degrees of freedom to temperatures very close to absolute zero. Although certain classes of molecules can be cooled with precisely engineered laser-light, particularly those containing a single heavy atom, extending efficient laser cooling to molecules more generally has proven challenging. This project aims to understand the general design principles that affect the performance of exotic, new classes of laser-coolable molecules containing multiple heavy atoms. Through a collaborative National Science Foundation - US Israel Binational Science Foundation experimental program, the investigators will explore how light from radio to visible wavelengths interacts with such molecules. This effort will broaden the diversity of cold molecule applications spanning quantum computing and simulation to tabletop searches for new physics. Such cutting-edge yet fundamental measurements are well suited to educating and training students in STEM fields, and such mentorship is a core project aim.All demonstrations of direct laser-cooling to date have used molecules containing a single heavy-atom photon-cycling center. More complex species containing multiple optical centers have the potential to greatly increase the versatility of laser-cooled molecules, but have not been thoroughly explored experimentally. This program comprises a systematic spectroscopic study of substituted hydrocarbons, including acetylene chains and benzene rings, containing multiple alkaline earth or alkaline-earth-like atoms. By combining broadband optical and microwave data, the investigators will directly probe how the intricacies of electronic structure and chemical bonding influence the molecular properties relevant to laser-cooling applications, as well as the molecular physics of these exotic, biradical species in general.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

激光冷却分子是探索量子科学和超速物理学边界的强大工具，只要它们的能量可以以各个程度的自由度冷却到非常接近绝对零的温度。 尽管某些类别的分子可以用精确设计的激光灯来冷却，尤其是那些包含单个重原子的分子，将有效的激光冷却扩展到分子更普遍地扩展到了挑战性。该项目旨在了解影响外来新型的，新型的激光冷却分子的性能，这些分子包含多个重原子。通过合作的国家科学基金会 - 美国以色列双原则科学基金会实验计划，研究人员将探索从无线电到可见波长的光如何与此类分子相互作用。这项工作将扩大跨量子计算和模拟的冷分子应用的多样性，以搜索桌面搜索新物理学。 这种尖端但基本的测量非常适合在STEM领域进行教育和培训学生，并且这种指导是一个核心项目目标。迄今为止，所有直接激光冷却的证明都使用了包含一个重型原子光子循环中心的分子。包含多个光学中心的更复杂的物种具有大大增加激光冷却分子的多功能性，但尚未在实验中进行彻底探索。该程序包括一项对取代的烃的系统光谱研究，包括乙炔链和苯环，其中包含多个碱性土或碱性 - 地球样原子。通过结合宽带光学和微波数据，研究人员将直接探测电子结构和化学键的无意义如何影响与激光冷却应用相关的分子特性，以及这些外来的，Biradical物种的分子物理学的一般情况，这是NSF的法定任务和综述均通过评估的依据，这表明了这一奖项的范围，并依赖于评估的范围。