Controllable three-dimensional electrostatic lattices for manipulation of cold polar molecules

Engineering many-body systems of particles in lattices has attracted intense interest in the last few decades, thanks to their promising applications such as in quantum computation or topological matter. While lattices of different dimensions have been demonstrated with magnetic and/or optical fields, little work has been done upon three-dimensional (3D) electrostatic lattices to tame polar molecules. Here, we propose a 3D electrostatic lattice consisting of periodically distributed square-patterned electrodes in space, whose potentials reach tens of millikelvin and can be controlled easily. Detailed analysis and Monte Carlo simulations indicate that ND3 molecules in its vertical bar J, KM > = vertical bar 1, -1 > state can be effectively trapped and evaporatively cooled. In addition, replacing the electrodes with different patterns enables realizing 3D electric lattices with new topological geometry (e.g., honeycomb or kagome). As a natural extension of the 3D optical and magnetic lattices, the 3D electrostatic lattice offers intriguing perspectives for cold chemistry, quantum simulation, and precision metrology.

Automated summary

Engineering many-body systems of particles in lattices has attracted significant interest recently. This study proposes a three-dimensional electrostatic lattice consisting of square-patterned electrodes, which can effectively trap and evaporatively cool polar molecules. Additionally, different electrode patterns enable the creation of three-dimensional electric lattices with new topological geometries.