AMO Physics in Cryogenic Matrices

原子和分子由于其有利的量子特性，已被用于制造一些世界上最敏感的传感器。先前的工作已经表明，被困在“低温基质”中的原子-冻结的气体，如固体氖和氢-保留了许多这些关键的量子特性，并且有可能在这种固体中隔离和与单个原子相互作用。在这个项目中，研究小组将（1）继续研究这些低温固体中原子和分子的性质，（2）利用它们开发单原子量子传感器。这不仅有可能推动这一特定领域的发展，而且还可能为物理、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，这些技术在实验科学中具有广泛的适用性，特别是在量子信息科学中。第一个是测量注入固体仲氢的分子系综的核自旋相干性。这些测量将揭示仲氢“量子固体”内分子的运动。此外，如果核自旋相干性是有利的，这个系统将用于精确测量实验，以提高我们对基础物理的理解，例如寻找永久电偶极子。第二种是将单个铷原子植入固体氖中作为核磁共振（NMR）传感器，能够测量单个核自旋的NMR信号。如果成功，这将使科学家能够对单分子进行NMR测量，这是一个长期追求的目标。此外，这将是开发新方法来成像单分子结构的关键第一步，这是一种潜在的化学和生物学变革技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

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.