Cavity-mediated molecular cooling (CMMC)

Project summary

Cavity-mediated cooling has emerged as the only general technique with the potential to cool molecular species down to the microkelvin temperatures needed for quantum coherence and degeneracy. We propose to link leading theoreticians and experimentalists, including the technique’s inventors and experimental pioneers, to develop it into a truly practical technique, reinforcing European leadership in this field. Four major experiments will explore a spectrum of complementary configurations and apply cavity-mediated cooling to molecules for the first time; a comprehensive theoretical programme will meanwhile examine the underlying mechanisms and identify the optimal route to practicality. The close connections between theory and experiment, and between pathfinding and underpinning studies, will allow each to guide and inform the others, ensuring that cavity-mediated cooling is swiftly developed as a broad enabling technology for new realms of quantum coherent molecular physics and chemistry.

Website: http://www.cavitycooling.org

 

Project Leader:

Tim Freegarde, University of Southampton, UK

Principal Investigators:

Almut Beige, University of Leeds, UK

Michael Drewsen, University of Aarhus, DK

Jürgen Eschner, Institut de Ciences Fotoniques (ICFO), ES

Peter Horak, University of Southampton, UK

Giovanna Morigi, Universitat Autonoma de Bracelona, ES

Pepijn Pinkse, Max-Planck Institüt für Quantenoptik, DE

Gerhard Rempe, Max-Planck Institüt für Quantenoptik, DE

Helmut Ritsch, Universität Innsbruck, AT

Regina de Vivie-Riedle, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, DE

Associated Groups:

Peter Domokos, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, HU

Tommaso Calarco, Harvard University Cambridge, US