Quantum Programmable Array of Ultracold Polar Molecules

• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: Funded in 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568633167

Direct laser cooling of molecules, once considered impractical, has now emerged as a powerful tool for achieving quantum control over molecular motion and internal states. Remarkable progress has been made in recent years on laser cooling of increasingly complex species, combining cooled molecules with tweezer arrays, and investigating novel cooling techniques. These advancements open promising avenues for the application of cold molecules in quantum information, precision metrology and ultracold chemistry. We request a large instrumentation that will function as an experimental platform for research in quantum science and information processing with single molecules. The apparatus combines expertise and technology in molecular beams, cold atom systems, laser and cryogenic technologies, which is an interdisciplinary scope that extends beyond the typical capabilities of a single research group. Therefore, three research groups at the University of Bonn plan to join efforts in commissioning, operating and maintaining this instrument, and use it to pursue collaborative research work. Our ambitious scientific goal is to employ the requested instrumentation in first demonstrations of quantum logic operations as well as precision measurements using single, trapped polar molecules.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Programmierbares Quanten-Array ultrakalter polarer Moleküle
• Instrumentation Group: 5750 Spezielle Laser-Mess-Systeme (z.B. Laser-Doppler-Vibrometer)
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Leader: Professor Sebastian Hofferberth, Ph.D.