Spectroscopy and dynamics of cold and ultracold molecules

冷和超冷分子的光谱学和动力学

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-06014
• 负责人: Momose, Takamasa
• 金额: $ 4.3万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=613883
• 关键词: Spectroscopy; dynamics; cold; ultracold; molecules

Cold molecule research has grown rapidly in the last ten years, inspired by the breakthroughs in the field of ultra cold atoms. Since pronounced quantum effects emerge from thermal averages at low temperatures, cold molecules are expected to behave quite differently from those at high temperatures. Molecules have many special features that atoms do not have, i.e. rotational and vibrational motions, longer range multipole interactions, and richer chemical reactivities. Ensembles of cold molecules are therefore a treasury of new frontiers in both chemistry and physics; completely unavailable by any other means. Since it is still difficult to create molecules even at 1 K, my research in the last five years has mainly focused on developing new experimental techniques to create cold molecules. Very recently we have succeeded in trapping cold polyatomic free radicals in a magnetic trap for the first time in the world. Based on the techniques we have established and new original ideas, we will continue on the cutting edge research on cold molecules, aiming to achieve major breakthroughs in this newly emerging field. My project in the next five years will consist of five topics: 1) Development of techniques to make ultracold molecules below 1 mK, 2) Detailed study of cold collisions and reactions, 3) Ultra-high resolution spectroscopy of cold molecules, 4) Coherent control of cold molecules by laser fields, and 5) Spectroscopy and dynamics of cold molecules in quantum condensed phases. Through these studies, new phenomena intrinsic to cold molecules will be investigated, such as quantum tunneling effects and the wave nature of molecules. Experiments on cold collisions and reactive scattering would take us into a strange new world in chemistry, namely ultracold chemistry, which may be relevant to interstellar chemistry. Coherent control such as the enantiomeric purification of racemic mixtures by laser fields is an important application of cold molecules to be tackled, which would make an impact in analytical and pharmaceutical science. Other applications include the observation of small energy differences in chiral molecules, and the development of quantum simulators/computers. The former would contribute to the understanding of the origin of life, and the latter to the material and information sciences. Furthermore, we will challenge the creation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate, a new phase of the molecular matter wave which has never been observed. Studies of cold molecules open unlimited possibilities, in terms of not only basic natural sciences, but also practical applications contributing to the broad scientific community, which offer a completely new field of research in physics and chemistry.

受超冷原子领域突破的启发，冷分子研究在过去十年中迅速发展。由于低温下的热平均会产生明显的量子效应，因此冷分子的行为与高温下的分子完全不同。分子具有许多原子所不具有的特殊性质，即旋转和振动运动，更长范围的多极相互作用和更丰富的化学反应性。因此，冷分子的集合体是化学和物理学新领域的宝库，是任何其他方法都无法获得的。由于即使在1 K下也很难创造分子，我在过去五年的研究主要集中在开发新的实验技术来创造冷分子。最近，我们在世界上首次成功地在磁阱中捕获了冷的多原子自由基。基于我们已经建立的技术和新的原创思想，我们将继续在冷分子的前沿研究，旨在实现这一新兴领域的重大突破。 我的项目在未来五年将包括五个主题：1）技术的发展，使超冷分子低于1 mK，2）详细研究冷碰撞和反应，3）超高分辨率光谱的冷分子，4）相干控制的冷分子的激光场，和5）光谱和动力学的冷分子在量子凝聚相。通过这些研究，将研究冷分子固有的新现象，如量子隧道效应和分子的波动性质。冷碰撞和反应散射的实验将把我们带入一个奇怪的化学新世界，即超冷化学，这可能与星际化学有关。相干控制，如通过激光场对外消旋混合物的对映体纯化，是待解决的冷分子的重要应用，这将在分析和药学科学中产生影响。其他应用包括观察手性分子中的小能量差，以及量子模拟器/计算机的开发。前者将有助于了解生命的起源，后者将有助于材料和信息科学。此外，我们将挑战分子玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚的创造，这是一种从未被观察到的分子物质波的新相。对冷分子的研究不仅在基础自然科学方面，而且在为广泛的科学界做出贡献的实际应用方面，开辟了无限的可能性，这为物理和化学研究提供了一个全新的领域。