Two Teams Use Optical Tweezer Traps to Entangle Pairs of Ultra-Cold Molecules
For years, physicists have been trying to control quantum entanglement of molecules, but the elusive nature of these complex entities has made it a challenging task. Now, however, two separate teams have accomplished this feat using microscopically precise optical ‘tweezer traps’.
Quantum entanglement is a bizarre yet fundamental phenomenon that physicists are attempting to harness for the development of commercial quantum computers. This phenomenon describes how objects become intimately linked at a distance, with their properties instantly influencing each other’s state.
The success of entangling pairs of ultra-cold molecules is a significant breakthrough, marking a major milestone in the quest to manipulate molecules for quantum computing purposes.
Molecules have proven to be difficult to cool down and easily interact with their surroundings, making them prone to falling out of fragile quantum entangled states, a phenomenon known as decoherence. However, these same properties also make molecules promising candidates for qubits in quantum computing, offering new possibilities for computation.
The two teams used ultra-cold calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules and then trapped them one by one in optical tweezers. The tightly focused beams of laser light were used to position the molecules in pairs, close enough for the long-range electric dipolar interaction to occur, leading to each pair of molecules becoming linked in an entangled quantum state.
This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for the development of versatile platforms for quantum technologies, and the potential applications are vast. By leveraging the dipole interactions of molecules, the system might one day be used to develop super-sensitive quantum sensors capable of detecting ultraweak electric fields, with potential applications in fields such as electroencephalography and earthquake predictions.
The two studies have been published in the journal Science, offering a glimpse into the promising future of quantum computing and the intricate manipulation of individual molecules.