Rovibrational Polaritons in Gas-Phase Methane
Abstract
Polaritonic states arise when a bright optical transition of a molecular ensemble is resonantly matched to an optical cavity mode frequency. Here, we lay the groundwork to study the behavior of polaritons in clean, isolated systems by establishing a new platform for vibrational strong coupling in gas-phase molecules. We access the strong coupling regime in an intracavity cryogenic buffer gas cell optimized for the preparation of simultaneously cold and dense ensembles, and report a proof-of-principle demonstration in gas-phase methane. We strongly cavity-couple individual rovibrational transitions and probe a range of coupling strengths and detunings. We reproduce our findings with classical cavity transmission simulations in the presence of strong intracavity absorbers. This infrastructure provides a new testbed for benchmark studies of cavity-altered chemistry.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2212.13506,
title = {Rovibrational Polaritons in Gas-Phase Methane},
author = {Adam D. Wright and Jane C. Nelson and Marissa L. Weichman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2212.13506},
year = {2023}
}