No Arabic abstract
Polar molecules in selected quantum states can be guided, decelerated, and trapped using electric fields created by microstructured electrodes on a chip. Here we explore how transitions between two of these quantum states can be induced while the molecules are on the chip. We use CO (a 3-Pi(1), v=0) molecules, prepared in the J=1 rotational level, and induce the J=2 <-- J=1 rotational transition with narrow-band sub-THz (mm-wave) radiation. First, the mm-wave source is characterized using CO molecules in a freely propagating molecular beam, and both Rabi cycling and rapid adiabatic passage are examined. Then, we demonstrate that the mm-wave radiation can be coupled to CO molecules that are less than 50 micron above the chip. Finally, CO molecules are guided in the J=1 level to the center of the chip where they are pumped to the J=2 level, recaptured, and guided off the chip.
A microstructured array of over 1200 electrodes on a substrate has been configured to generate an array of local minima of electric field strength with a periodicity of $120 mu$m about $25 mu$m above the substrate. By applying sinusoidally varying potentials to the electrodes, these minima can be made to move smoothly along the array. Polar molecules in low field seeking quantum states can be trapped in these traveling potential wells. This is experimentally demonstrated by transporting metastable CO molecules in 30 mK deep wells that move at constant velocities above the substrate.
We demonstrate the measurement and manipulation of the temperature of cold CO molecules in a microchip environment. Through the use of time-resolved spatial imaging, we are able to observe the phase-space distribution of the molecules, and hence deduce the corresponding temperature. We do this both by observing the expansion of the molecular ensemble in time and through the use of numerical trajectory simulations. Furthermore, we demonstrate the adiabatic cooling of the trapped molecular sample and discuss this process.
Polar molecules in superpositions of rotational states exhibit long-range dipolar interactions, but maintaining their coherence in a trapped sample is a challenge. We present calculations that show many laser-coolable molecules have convenient rotational transitions that are exceptionally insensitive to magnetic fields. We verify this experimentally for CaF where we find a transition with sensitivity below 5 Hz G$^{-1}$ and use it to demonstrate a rotational coherence time of 6.4(8) ms in a magnetic trap. Simulations suggest it is feasible to extend this to more than 1 s using a smaller cloud in a biased magnetic trap.
Diatomic polar molecules are one of the most promising platforms of quantum computing due to their rich internal states and large electric dipole moments. Here, we propose entangling rotational states of adjacent polar molecules via a strong electric dipole-dipole interaction. The splitting of 1.27 kHz between two entangled states is predicted for MgF molecules in an optical tweezer array. The resolution of the entangled states can be achieved in a magic potential for the molecules where the rotational states have the same trap frequencies. The magic potential can be formed by tuning the angle between the molecules quantization axis and the linear polarization of trapping light, so-called magic angle. We calculate the magic angle for MgF molecules in a reasonable experimental condition and obtain that the trap frequencies of the two involved states can be matched within a few 10s of Hz. Establishing entanglement between molecules, our results provide a first step towards quantum computing using diatomic polar molecules.
Qubit coherence times are critical to the performance of any robust quantum computing platform. For quantum information processing using arrays of polar molecules, a key performance parameter is the molecular rotational coherence time. We report a 93(7) ms coherence time for rotational state qubits of laser cooled CaF molecules in optical tweezer traps, over an order of magnitude longer than previous systems. Inhomogeneous broadening due to the differential polarizability between the qubit states is suppressed by tuning the tweezer polarization and applied magnetic field to a magic angle. The coherence time is limited by the residual differential polarizability, implying improvement with further cooling. A single spin-echo pulse is able to extend the coherence time to nearly half a second. The measured coherence times demonstrate the potential of polar molecules as high fidelity qubits.