We have recently created the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of dipolar molecules [1-3]. We efficiently cool sodium-cesium molecules from 700 nK to less than 10 nK, deep into the quantum degenerate regime. The lifetime of the molecular BECs is longer than one second, reaching a level of stability similar to ultracold atomic gases. A cornerstone of this advance is double microwave shielding, a novel technique that gives us control over intermolecular interactions and reduces inelastic loss of molecules by four orders of magnitude. The creation of a BEC constitutes the first observation of a phase transition in an ultracold molecular gas.
In this talk, I will discuss our experimental approach, share latest insights, and give an outlook on opportunities for many-body quantum physics, quantum simulation, and quantum information. Thanks to a large dipole moment, BECs of sodium-cesium molecules promise access to regimes of dipolar quantum matter that have been inaccessible so far.
References:
[1] Bigagli, Yuan, Zhang, et al., Observation of Bose-Einstein condensation of dipolar molecules, Nature 631, 289-293 (2024)/
[2] Bigagli, et al., Collisionally stable gas of bosonic dipolar ground state molecules, Nature Physics 19, 1579-1584 (2023)
[3] Stevenson, et al., Ultracold gas of dipolar NaCs ground state molecules, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 113003 (2023)