Experiments with cold, electrostatically trapped Rydberg molecules

在这个项目中，将利用最先进的低温冷却芯片减速器和电子陷阱来制备一氧化氮分子的冷气相样品，这些样品处于被称为里德堡态的高激发量子态。该项目的第一阶段工作将涉及对这些激发分子样品中填充的量子态的演化和缓慢自发衰变的时间域的研究。接下来将研究黑体辐射和与其他基态分子的低能量碰撞对这些衰变过程的影响。在该项目的第二个主要阶段，重点将放在长程电偶极相互作用和短程离子-分子反应的探测效应上。这些类型的相互作用与高里德堡态中的冷分子的实验研究目前特别令人感兴趣。

In this project, state-of-the-art, cryogenically cooled, chip-based decelerators and electric traps will be exploited to prepare cold gas-phase samples of nitric oxide molecules in highly excited quantum states known as Rydberg states. The first phase of the project work will involve studies in the time domain of the evolution and slow spontaneous decay of the quantum states populated in these excited molecular samples. This will then be followed by investigations of the effects of blackbody radiation and low-energy collisions with other ground-state molecules on these decay processes. In this second main phase of the project emphasis will be placed on probing effects of long-range electric dipole interactions and short-range ion-molecule reactions. Experimental studies of these types of interactions with cold molecules in high Rydberg states are at present of particular interest.