Degenerate Fermionic NaK Molecules: towardscollective modes, optical-lattice loading and dipolar superfluidity

Ultracold polar molecules provide long-range, anisotropic dipole–dipole interactions for exploring rich quantum many-body physics. However, the deeply degenerate interacting regime remains largely unexplored due to limitations in achievable temperature. Here we use microwave shielding to fundamentally modify both the sign and symmetry of dipolar interactions in a fermionic gas of NaK molecules, enabling stable and highly tunable dipolar matter. In particular, microwave dressing can realize effectively negated dipolar interactions with engineered anisotropy, which is predicted to support chiral topological px +ipy superfluidity in two dimensions.

In this poster, we present our experimental progress toward deeply degenerate and stable microwave-shielded NaK Fermi gases. We show signatures consistent with interaction-driven, symmetry-breaking Fermi-surface deformation and discuss its dependence on shielding parameters and trap geometry. We also report preliminary measurements of collective modes of the degenerate molecular Fermi gas, providing a dynamical probe of dipolar many-body effects. Finally, we summarize ongoing progress toward trapping highly degenerate fermionic NaK molecules in an optical lattice, aiming for low-entropy lattice dipolar matter.