The project has focused on the cooling of dipolar molecules, specifically the barium monofluoride radical. Such cold molecules are highly sought-after because they combine complex interactions with a rich internal structure. This is expected to enable novel groundbreaking applications in precision measurement, ultracold chemistry and many-body physics. While these applications are fundamental research, cooling of molecules also sets the stage for the exploitation of molecular quantum effects in future real-life devices, very much in line with the agenda of the EU Quantum Flagship.
However, the complexity that makes molecules so interesting also makes them extraordinarily challenging to cool. The goal of the project was to investigate laser cooling, which is a powerful technique to cool atoms to ultracold temperatures. This technique relies on a closed cycling transition, on which many photons from a laser beam can be scattered to realize significant forces. Such cycling transitions naturally occur in many atoms. However, in molecules, they are much more scarce, and it is first necessary to identify and characterize suitable molecular energy levels, selection rules, and potential leakage out of the cycle.
The goal of this project was to address exactly these points. The research tasks performed were thus highly challenging and only a few groups worldwide have been able to address similar questions so far. The skills and techniques cultivated by the researcher and students on the project are thus highly valuable for European society and economy.
