Efficient detection of cold polar molecules via Rydberg atoms

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Experiments on cold and ultracold molecules are at the frontier of research in quantum science, promising, e.g. new approaches for quantum many-body physics and novel architectures for quantum information processing. However, the lack of efficient detection schemes for many molecule species substantially impedes progress. In this project, the detection of cold polar molecules via ultracold Rydberg atoms using Förster Resonant Energy Transfer will be experimentally demonstrated. Key features of the detection include the applicability to basically any polar molecule species, a high detection efficiency, state selectivity, and the ability to detect molecules nondestructively. These advantages will provide a major boost to the field of cold/ultracold molecules. The project will also make groundbreaking contributions beyond detection of molecules. First, collision studies between cold molecules and Rydberg atoms will be performed, with fundamentally different collision properties expected compared to higher-energy collisions performed previously. Second, a new approach to perform precision molecular spectroscopy will be demonstrated, using Rydberg atoms instead of photons. Third, the work represents a first demonstration of a quantum hybrid system combining Rydberg atoms and polar molecules, which will allow the extreme controllability of ultracold atoms to be harnessed for fundamental investigations with molecules.