Progress towards squeezing in itinerant polyatomic molecules

Polyatomic molecules host rich internal structures. Among these, a generic vibrational parity-doublet bending mode is promising candidate for quantum information science and quantum metrology. Here, we laser-cool and trap a gas of CaOH molecules confined in an oblate crossed optical dipole trap. The traps are tuned at magic polarization angles to extend the coherence time. We demonstrate quantum projection noise-limited measurement of quadratures encoded in the bending mode parity-doublet. With further interaction Hamiltonian tuning, this approach will open new opportunity for observing quantum enhanced sensing with ultracold polyatomic molecules.