Related papers: Quantum-state selection, alignment, and orientatio…
Polar molecules are desirable systems for quantum simulations and cold chemistry. Molecular ions are easily trapped, but a bias electric field applied to polarize them tends to accelerate them out of the trap. We present a general solution…
Alignment and orientation of molecules by intense, ultrashort laser fields are crucial for a variety of applications in physics and chemistry. These include control of high harmonics generation, molecular orbitals tomography, control of…
We propose and computationally study a method for simultaneously orienting the angular momentum of asymmetric top molecules along: 1) a laboratory-fixed direction; 2) the molecular intermediate moment of inertia axis; 3) the laser field…
Polar molecules are a quantum resource with rich internal structure that can be coherently controlled. The structure, however, also makes the state preparation and measurement (SPAM) of molecules challenging. We advance the SPAM of…
The control and manipulation of quantum-entangled non-local states is a crucial step for the development of quantum information processing. A promising route to achieve such states on a wide scale is to couple solid-state quantum emitters…
Polarized atomic beam sources have been in operation since many years to produce either nuclear polarized atomic hydrogen or deuterium beams. In recent experiments such a source was used to polarize both isotopes independently at the same…
We consider deflection of polarizable molecules by inhomogeneous optical fields, and analyze the role of molecular orientation and rotation in the scattering process. It is shown that molecular rotation induces spectacular rainbow-like…
We report the creation and characterization of a near quantum-degenerate gas of polar $^{40}$K-$^{87}$Rb molecules in their absolute rovibrational ground state. Starting from weakly bound heteronuclear KRb Feshbach molecules, we implement…
We show that optomechanical systems in the quantum regime can be used to demonstrate EPR-type quantum entanglement between the optical field and the mechanical oscillator, via quantum-state steering. Namely, the conditional quantum state of…
We present a new method for the generation of rotationally and vibrationally state-selected, translationally cold molecular ions in ion traps. Our technique is based on the state-selective threshold photoionization of neutral molecules…
We study laser cooling of atomic gases by collisional redistribution of fluorescence. In a high pressure buffer gas regime, frequent collisions perturb the energy levels of alkali atoms, which allows for the absorption of a far red detuned…
The understanding of molecular structure and function is at the very heart of the chemical and molecular sciences. Experiments that allow for the creation of structurally pure samples and the investigation of their molecular dynamics and…
Direct laser cooling of molecules has made significant progress in recent years. However, the selective cooling and manipulation of molecules based on their isotopic composition, which is ubiquitous in atomic laser cooling, has not yet been…
Iodine (I$_2$) molecules embedded in He nanodroplets are aligned by a 160 ps long laser pulse. The highest degree of alignment, occurring at the peak of the pulse and quantified by $\langle \cos^2 \theta_{2D} \rangle$, is measured as a…
Confocal microscopy of fluorescent labeled particles has been used to study the dynamical and structural properties of colloidal and granular matter in real space. Localization algorithms allow for a fully automatized determination of the…
We introduce a new optical tool - a "two-dimensional optical centrifuge", capable of aligning molecules in extreme rotational states. Unlike the conventional centrifuge, which confines the molecules in the plane of their rotation, its…
The properties of molecule-optical elements such as lenses or prisms based on the interaction of molecules with optical fields depend in a crucial way on the molecular quantum state and its alignment created by the optical field. However,…
A general method for rotational microwave spectroscopy and control of polar molecular ions via direct microwave addressing is considered. Our method makes use of spatially varying AC Stark shifts, induced by far off-resonant, focused laser…
We present a novel method for probing the alignment of the molecular axis of an ultracold, nonpolar dimer. These results are obtained using diatomic $^{87}\textrm{Rb}_2$ molecules in the vibrational ground state of the lowest triplet…
Laser cooling of molecules employing broadband optical pumping involves a timescale separation between laser excitation and spontaneous emission. Here, we optimize the optical pumping step using shaped laser pulses. We derive two…