Coherent Control of Ground State NaK Molecules

Ultracold dipolar molecules exhibit anisotropic, tunable, long-range interactions, making them attractive for the study of novel states of matter and quantum information processing. We demonstrate the creation and control of $^{23}Na^{40}K$ molecules in their rovibronic and hyperfine ground state. By applying microwaves, we drive coherent Rabi oscillations of spin-polarized molecules between the rotational ground state (J=0) and J=1. The control afforded by microwave manipulation allows us to pursue engineered dipolar interactions via microwave dressing. By driving a two-photon transition, we are also able to observe Ramsey fringes between different J=0 hyperfine states, with coherence times as long as 0.5s. The realization of long coherence times between different molecular states is crucial for applications in quantum information processing.