Efficient detection of cold polar molecules via Rydberg atoms

低温和超低温分子实验是量子科学研究的前沿，具有广阔的前景，如量子多体物理的新方法和量子信息处理的新架构。然而，缺乏有效的检测方案，许多分子物种实质上阻碍了进展。在这个项目中，通过使用Förster共振能量转移的超冷里德伯原子检测冷极性分子将被实验证明。该检测的主要特点包括基本上适用于任何极性分子种类，检测效率高，状态选择性，以及无损检测分子的能力。这些优势将为冷/超冷分子领域提供重大推动。该项目还将在分子检测之外做出开创性的贡献。首先，将进行冷分子和里德伯原子之间的碰撞研究，与之前进行的高能碰撞相比，预期具有根本不同的碰撞特性。其次，将展示一种使用里德伯原子代替光子进行精确分子光谱学的新方法。第三，这项工作首次展示了将里德伯原子和极性分子结合在一起的量子混合系统，这将允许利用超冷原子的极端可控性来进行分子的基础研究。

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.