Quantum Optics Laboratory

Molecular interactions control everything from making new materials to generation of energy. However, complex molecular structure has challenged accurate study and precise control of their interactions at the most fundamental levels.  A new scientific frontier is emerging in recent years by cooling molecules to low temperatures, aiming to achieve new insights to how molecules interact and evolve.  With a quantum gas of molecules, we can precisely manipulate their interactions via spatial confinement and orientations based on specific quantum states.  The long-range dipolar interaction between trapped molecules presents an interconnected spin system where correlated many-body dynamics can be explored.