A Quantum Simulation Platform Based on Dipolar MgF Molecules

Recent progress has seen the emergence of dipolar quantum simulators using magnetic atoms and polar molecules. In this work, we introduce a quantum simulation platform that employs an optical lattice of directly laser-cooled magnesium monofluoride (MgF) molecules. We report our progress towards a magneto-optical trap (MOT) of 24MgF and on feasibility studies of an MOT of fermionic 25MgF. We perform hyperfine spectroscopy of 25MgF to inform MOT trapping simulations. We describe the design of a quantum gas microscope that will leverage the UV transition wavelength and light mass of MgF. We present a strategy for the simulation of quantum magnetism with microwave-dressed states in the (N = 0, F = 1) and (N = 1, F = 2) manifolds of 24MgF. Utilizing a static magnetic field, two or three of these dressed states may be brought into degeneracy, enabling simulation with pseudospins s=½ or s=1 within the SU(2) framework. The latter case provides a novel platform to realize a 1D Haldane phase in a quantum simulator.