Molecular Bose-Einstein condensates have the potential to address fundamental questions and could serve as the foundation for new quantum computers. Bose-Einstein condensation occurs in a gas of atoms or molecules when the temperature is so low that their wavefunctions overlap. When this happens, a phase transition occurs, and the particles condense into the quantum mechanical ground state. This results in a macroscopic system described by a single wavefunction. Interactions between particles in this "quantum gas’’ can be fully controlled. The many-particle quantum system with tunable interactions can then be used to emulate poorly understood systems, such as electrons in quantum materials. This technology is called quantum simulation.
Cooling molecules
BECs of atoms were first realized in 1995. Achieving Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules has been more challenging due to collisional losses. Until now. The researchers are now able to control these collisions. This enables efficient cooling of the molecules to below the phase transition to the BEC, marking the first observation of a phase transition in a gas of ultracold molecules. The experiment has been performed in the group of Professor Sebastian Will (Columbia University, USA).
Quantum physics
The ability to control molecular interactions and stabilize molecular BECs opens up new possibilities for quantum simulation. With this new BEC, scientists are able manipulate the strength of interactions between the molecules in the condensate, from very weak to very strong. This enables emulating strongly-interacting electrons in quantum materials more closely. The molecular BEC is also a powerful platform to study dipolar quantum many-body physics. Such studies are vital for uncovering novel quantum phenomena and have profound implications in physics, potentially leading to the creation of innovative materials and new technologies.
