Nondestructive Identification of Cold and Extremely Localized Single Molecular Ions

Abstract

We demonstrate a simple and nondestructive method for identification of a single molecular ion sympathetically cooled by a single laser cooled atomic ion in a linear Paul trap. The technique is based on a precise nondestructive determination of the molecular ion mass through a measurement of the eigenfrequency of a common motional mode of the two ions. The demonstrated mass resolution is sufficiently high that molecular ion mass doublets can potentially be distinguished from each other. The obtained results represent an important step towards single molecule gas phase chemical physics.

Zeeman relaxation of MnH (X7Σ+) in collisions withHe3Turpin1, Stoecklin2, Halvick3 2011Phys. Rev. A5170View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…The recent advances of cooling and trapping experimental methods of molecules [1,2,3,4] have stimulated a wide range of theoretical studies dedicated to collisions in ultra cold molecular gases [5,6,7,8]. These ultra cold molecule samples have potential applications in many different fields like precision spectroscopic measurements [9,10,11] or quantum information storage and processing [12,13].…”

“…Photoassociation spectroscopy, magnetic tuning of Feshbach resonances and Stark deceleration [14,15,16,17] are currently applied to cool down a variety of molecular systems. However, 3 He buffer gas cooling remains the most universal technique used to cool down molecules. It was recently shown, when followed by evaporative cooling, to even allow the production of a Bose Einstein condensate [18].…”

Optimization of segmented linear Paul traps and transport of stored particles

“…Certainly, non-optimized fast transport of qubit ions into the processor unit followed by sympathetic cooling of a different ion species [17,18] would be an alternative strategy. However, the necessary cooling time would render the overall computational time even slower.…”

Ultrasensitive detection of force and displacement using trapped ions

“…Another advantage is that readout is achieved through resonant-fluorescence detection using only a single laser. Previous studies have suggested that by using ions it is possible to measure forces approaching the yoctonewton scale, for instance, through experiments on motional heating in Paul traps due to fluctuating electric fields [18][19][20], or resonant excitation techniques [17,21].…”

“…Another advantage is that readout is achieved through resonant-fluorescence detection using only a single laser. Previous studies have suggested that by using ions it is possible to measure forces approaching the yoctonewton scale, for instance, through experiments on motional heating in Paul traps due to fluctuating electric fields [18][19][20], or resonant excitation techniques [17,21].In particular, small forces applied to ions in weak trapping potentials (trapping frequencies ∼0.1 MHz or lower) can excite micron-scale motional excursions resolvable using real-space imaging [21,22].While the intrinsic sensitivity of trapped ions to external forces and fields is well supported, it remains an experimental challenge to determine the maximum achievable sensitivity to a given external excitation as set by systematic limitations including the efficiency of a measurement procedure. Establishing ions as components in ultrasensitive detectors requires two primary issues to be addressed: a known excitation must be applied to allow precise calibration of the system's response; and it must be possible to compare the results of these experiments with the existing literature on detectors based on integrated nanostructures.…”