Microwave shielding of ultracold polar molecules with imperfectly circular polarization [dataset]

We investigate the use of microwave radiation to produce a repulsive shield between pairs of ultracold polar molecules and prevent collisional losses that occur when molecular pairs reach short range. We carry out coupled-channels calculations on RbCs+RbCs and CaF+CaF collisions in microwave fields. We show that effective shielding requires predominantly circular polarization, but can still be achieved with elliptical polarization that is around 90% circular.

本研究探索了利用微波辐射在超冷极性分子对之间生成排斥性屏蔽结构，以阻止分子对趋近至短程时发生的碰撞损耗。我们针对微波场中的RbCs+RbCs与CaF+CaF碰撞体系开展了耦合通道（coupled-channels）计算。研究结果表明，实现有效屏蔽主要依赖圆偏振态，但即便使用圆偏振占比约90%的椭圆偏振态，仍可达成该屏蔽效果。