For the first time, a teamled by Prof. PAN Jianwei and Prof. ZHAO Bo atthe University of Science and Technology of China,have successfully observedscattering resonancesbetween atoms and molecules at ultralow temperatures, shedding light onthe quantum nature ofatom-molecule interactions that have so far only been discussed in theory. These observations greatly aid in the advancement ofultracold polar moleculesandultracold chemical physics. The new insights inform several other disciplines, such as designing high precision clocks, powerful microscopes, biological compasses and super-powerfulquantumcomputers.
The field of chemical physics, a subcategory of quantumchemistry, has long been focusing on understanding theinteractionsof atoms and molecules at their very basic levels. Specifically, the aim has been to elucidate the scattering resonances,a remarkable quantum phenomenon that is expected to be a routine rather than an exception at temperatures near absolute zero. Specific to this research, the focus has been an understanding of scattering resonances of heavy molecules at ultracold temperatures, conditions under which particles move so slowly that one has enough time to both investigate and control their structure and motion with either electric or magnetic fields.
The first-of-its-kind study is published in the journalSciencethis week. It describes a specific type of interaction between atoms and molecules, namely potassium-40 (40K) atoms and sodium-23-potassium-40 (23Na40K) molecules. This interaction was taking place at ultralow temperatures and was manipulated by a magnetic field. The authors were thereby able to observe the specific scatteringresonances, between the aforementioned atoms and molecules, which was so far only theorized.
“The molecules are heavy, and the structure of their energy field is very complex, whichmayresult ina large amount ofatom-moleculeresonances,” according to ZHAO Bo.“Theory cannot predict the positions of theseatom-moleculeresonances. In fact, it is unclear whether the atom-moleculeresonancesat ultracold temperaturesareresolvable and observable prior to our work,” he adds.
The news findings offer knowledge that can be applied to better understand otheratom-moleculeinteractions. The USTC team has devised a tool that can accuratelymonitorparticle behavior so that a plethora of other interactions and dynamics can be visualized rather than theorized.
In their future endeavors, the team aims to explore even more parameters in order to understand them. “The next step is to measure more resonances and try to understand them. Our hope is to collaborate with theoreticians and find an accurate and predictive model that can understand and predict the atom-molecule scattering at ultralow temperatures. This is the ultimate goal of studying ultracold collisions involving molecules,” according to ZHAO.
This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant number: 2018YFA0306502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 11521063), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Anhui Initiative in Quantum Information Technologies.
(USTC News Center)