Towards an Analog Quantum Simulator of Potassium Silver Molecules
ORAL
Abstract
Ultracold polar molecules offer a versatile toolkit for quantum simulation due to their tunable long-range interactions, rich internal structures and long coherence times. Potassium-silver (KAg) is a compelling candidate for these studies due to its large predicted permanent electric dipole moment of 8.5 Debye. This high dipole moment potentially enables the investigation of novel many-body physics, including topological superfluidity and quantum many-body scar dynamics in lattice spin models.
The production of KAg starts with preparation of K and Ag in magneto-optical traps[1]. We report on current progress including Λ-enhanced D1 grey molasses on Ag to 12(4) μK, the first optical trap of Ag, and evaporative cooling of Ag and K atoms in optical traps. We discuss the near-term pathway to ground state molecules, including co-trapping K and Ag in an optical trap, formation of Feshbach molecules, and coherent transfer via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP).
[1] Michael Vayninger, Angela Xiang, Nachiket D. Bhanushali, Xiaoyu Chen, Mohit Verma, Shaozhen Yang, Rohan T. Kapur, David DeMille, Zoe Z. Yan, ``Magneto-optical trap of silver and potassium atoms," Phys. Rev. A 112, 063306 (2025).
The production of KAg starts with preparation of K and Ag in magneto-optical traps[1]. We report on current progress including Λ-enhanced D1 grey molasses on Ag to 12(4) μK, the first optical trap of Ag, and evaporative cooling of Ag and K atoms in optical traps. We discuss the near-term pathway to ground state molecules, including co-trapping K and Ag in an optical trap, formation of Feshbach molecules, and coherent transfer via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP).
[1] Michael Vayninger, Angela Xiang, Nachiket D. Bhanushali, Xiaoyu Chen, Mohit Verma, Shaozhen Yang, Rohan T. Kapur, David DeMille, Zoe Z. Yan, ``Magneto-optical trap of silver and potassium atoms," Phys. Rev. A 112, 063306 (2025).
*We acknowledge support from the Packard Foundation Fellowship, AFOSR Young Investigator Program, Sloan Foundation Fellowship and UChicago Neubauer Assistant Professors Program
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Publication: [1] Michael Vayninger, Angela Xiang, Nachiket D. Bhanushali, Xiaoyu Chen, Mohit Verma, Shaozhen Yang, Rohan T. Kapur, David DeMille, Zoe Z. Yan, ``Magneto-optical trap of silver and potassium atoms," Phys. Rev. A 112, 063306 (2025).
Presenters
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Angela Xiang
- University of Chicago