AMO Physics in Cryogenic Matrices

由于原子和分子具有良好的量子特性，它们已被用来制造一些世界上最灵敏的传感器。先前的研究表明，被困在“低温基质”中的原子——固态氖和氢等冷冻气体——保留了许多关键的量子特性，并且有可能在这种固体中分离出单个原子并与之相互作用。在这个项目中，研究小组将(1)继续研究这些低温固体中的原子和分子的性质，(2)利用它们来开发单原子量子传感器。这不仅有可能推进这一特定领域，也有可能为物理、化学和生物学的其他领域开发新的传感工具。参与该项目的本科生和研究生将接受实验技术的培训，这些实验技术在实验科学，特别是量子信息科学中具有广泛的适用性。该项目有两个主要目标。首先是测量植入固体准氢的分子系综的核自旋相干性。这些测量结果将揭示准氢“量子固体”中分子的运动。此外，如果核自旋相干性是有利的，该系统将用于精密测量实验，以提高我们对基础物理学的理解，例如寻找永久电偶极子。第二种方法是将单个铷原子植入固体氖中作为核磁共振传感器，能够测量单个核自旋的核磁共振信号。如果成功，这将使科学家有能力对单个分子进行核磁共振测量，这是一个长期追求的目标。此外，这将是开发单分子结构成像新方法的关键第一步，这是一项潜在的化学和生物学变革技术。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Atoms and molecules have been used to create some of the world's most sensitive sensors, due to their favorable quantum properties. Prior work has shown that atoms trapped in “cryogenic matrices” — frozen gasses such as solid neon and hydrogen — preserve many of these crucial quantum properties, and that it is possible to isolate and interact with single atoms in such solids. In this project, the research team will (1) continue to investigate the properties of atoms and molecules in these cryogenic solids and (2) use them to develop single-atom quantum sensors. This has the potential to not only advance this particular field, but also to develop new sensing tools for other fields of physics, chemistry, and biology. The undergraduate and graduate students working on the project will be trained in experimental techniques with wide applicability in experimental science, particularly in quantum information science.The project has two primary goals. The first is to measure the nuclear spin coherence of ensembles of molecules implanted in solid parahydrogen. These measurements will shed light on the motion of the molecules within the “quantum solid” of parahydrogen. Moreover, if the nuclear spin coherence is favorable, this system will be of use in precision-measurement experiments for improving our understanding of fundamental physics, such as the search for a permanent electric dipole. The second is to use a single rubidium atom implanted in solid neon as a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensor capable of measure the NMR signal of a single nuclear spin. If successful, this would give scientists the capability of performing NMR measurements of single molecules, a long-sought goal. Additionally, this would be a crucial first step towards developing new methods to image the structure of a single molecule, a potentially transformative technology for chemistry and biology.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.