Scientists at JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado, have discovered a new way to control chemical reactions in ultracold molecules using electric fields. The research team, led by NIST Fellows Jun Ye and Deborah Jin, found that applying a small electric field can dramatically increase the rate of chemical reactions in their gas of ultracold potassium-rubidium (KRb) molecules.
The electric fields control the reactions by tuning the molecules’ electrical properties and influencing their interactions. Molecules that approach each other head-to-tail parallel to the applied electric field are more likely to react, while those approaching side-by-side perpendicular to the field are less likely to react.
This discovery could enable scientists to create novel platforms for quantum computing and superfluids using ultracold molecules. The research was funded by NIST, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Keywords: ultracold, polar, quantum, molecule, electric
