Dipolar collisions of ultracold polar molecules in a microwave field

Collisions at ultracold temperatures between (1)Sigma-state diatomic polar molecules in a circularly polarized microwave field are theoretically analyzed. We demonstrate that elastic and inelastic collisions of polar molecules at ultracold temperatures are affected by an external microwave field and that they are enhanced at resonance frequencies. We show that the collision dynamics of polar molecules in a microwave field is largely determined by the long-range dipole-dipole interaction. Through this interaction, two polar molecules can resonantly exchange internal energy by undergoing a transition between neighboring rotational levels. This process may stabilize the system and enable the successive evaporative cooling of molecules. This paper discusses fermionic polar molecules at ultralow temperatures (1 mu K).