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Molecular lattice clock with long vibrational coherence
- Source :
- Nature Physics. 15:1118-1122
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Atomic lattice clocks have spurred numerous ideas for tests of fundamental physics, detection of general relativistic effects and studies of interacting many-body systems. On the other hand, molecular structure and dynamics offer rich energy scales that are at the heart of new protocols in precision measurement and quantum information science. Here, we demonstrate a fundamentally distinct type of lattice clock that is based on vibrations in diatomic molecules, and present coherent Rabi oscillations between weakly and deeply bound molecules that persist for tens of milliseconds. This control is made possible by a state-insensitive magic lattice trap that weakly couples to molecular vibronic resonances and enhances the coherence time of light-induced clock state superpositions by several orders of magnitude. The achieved quality factor Q = 8 × 1011 results from 30 Hz narrow resonances for a 25 THz clock transition in Sr2 molecules. Our technique of extended coherent manipulation is applicable to long-term storage of quantum information in qubits based on ultracold polar molecules, while the vibrational clock enables precise probes of interatomic forces, tests of Newtonian gravitation at ultrashort range and model-independent searches for electron-to-proton mass ratio variations. The realization of a molecular lattice clock based on vibrations in diatomic molecules is reported with coherence times lasting over tens of milliseconds, which is enabled by the use of a state-insensitive magic lattice trap.
- Subjects :
- Physics
Quantum Physics
Coherence time
Rabi cycle
Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
FOS: Physical sciences
General Physics and Astronomy
01 natural sciences
7. Clean energy
Diatomic molecule
Physics - Atomic Physics
010305 fluids & plasmas
Qubit
0103 physical sciences
Physics::Chemical Physics
Atomic physics
Quantum information
Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
010306 general physics
Relativistic quantum chemistry
Quantum information science
Coherence (physics)
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17452481 and 17452473
- Volume :
- 15
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nature Physics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b914eb5d0ebb4417685c86cece2138a9