Abstract: Juarros

Dr. Elizabeth Juarros – University of Connecticut

Title: “Polar Molecules in the Ultracold Realm”

Dipole-dipole forces dominate the interactions in an electrically polarized gas of heteronuclear diatomic molecules. These polar molecules may provide an excellent means with which to explore controlled chemical reactions, to search for physics beyond the standard model, and even to make a robust quantum computer. I will present various photoassociation schemes to produce ultracold alkali hydride molecules. I will show that significant quantities of these molecules can be formed in various rovibrational levels of the electronic ground state and will examine some problems that can arise with these formation methods and ways to mitigate them.