Electroassociation of Ultracold Dipolar Molecules into Tetramer Field-Linked States

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Electroassociation of Ultracold Dipolar Molecules into Tetramer Field-Linked States

Goulven Quéméner, John L. Bohn, and James F. E. Croft

Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 043402 – Published 26 July 2023

Abstract

The presence of electric or microwave fields can modify the long-range forces between ultracold dipolar molecules in such a way as to engineer weakly bound states of molecule pairs. These so-called field-linked states [A. V. Avdeenkov and J. L. Bohn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 043006 (2003).; L. Lassablière and G. Quéméner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 163402 (2018).], in which the separation between the two bound molecules can be orders of magnitude larger than the molecules themselves, have been observed as resonances in scattering experiments [X.-Y. Chen et al., Nature (London) 614, 59 (2023).]. Here, we propose to use them as tools for the assembly of weakly bound tetramer molecules, by means of ramping an electric field, the electric-field analog of magnetoassociation in atoms. This ability would present new possibilities for constructing ultracold polyatomic molecules.

Received 19 April 2023
Revised 19 June 2023
Accepted 22 June 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.043402

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Cold and ultracold molecules Dipolar molecules

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Goulven Quéméner

Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire Aimé Cotton, 91405 Orsay, France

John L. Bohn

JILA, NIST, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA

James F. E. Croft

The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand and Department of Physics, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand