IASMOL · Imaging and Addressing of Single Molecules in Optical Lattices

Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman first emphasized the complexity of simulating quantum systems. Using classical computers, the exponential scaling of the required computational power with the number of constituent particles of the quantum system makes full simulations impossible for high particle numbers. As a solution, Feynman suggested using a quantum computer that operates according to the laws of quantum mechanics. This notion of quantum simulation - to simulate one quantum system with another - therefore has the main goal of solving problems that are not accessible using a classical computer. A prominent example of quantum simulation, that is the topic of this proposal, is the study of interacting many-body quantum systems. Over the course of the “Imaging and Addressing of Single Molecules in Optical Lattices” (IASMOL) project I will develop techniques to combine the state-of-the-art imaging and addressing techniques currently employed in atomic quantum gas microscopes and apply them to molecule experiments. This will enable the quantum simulation of strongly interacting matter with precise single-particle control and in-situ imaging. I will use molecules created by the association of ultracold alkali-metal atoms. This approach benefits from the enormous advances in laser cooling of atoms and crucially allows the lattice to be loaded with atom-pairs from degenerate atomic gases. The host group (HG) within the physics department at Durham University is part of the Joint Quantum Centre which has a major research theme in ultracold atoms and molecules (both theory and experiment). The HG have successfully created RbCs molecules by the association of atoms for many years, allowing for studies of the properties of these molecules. The RbCs experiment in the HG is therefore the ideal environment to implement the IASMOL project.