Quantum state tracking and control of a single molecular ion in a thermal environment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Yu; Schmidt, Julian; Liu, Zhimin; Leibrandt, David R.; Leibfried, Dietrich; Chou, Chin-wen
• 署名单位: National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) - USA; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Paul Scherrer Institute; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-12209
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ado1001
• 发表日期: 2024-08-16
• 页码: 790-795
• 关键词: rotational energy-transfer; plus hd; spectroscopy; interference; DYNAMICS; atom

摘要

Understanding molecular state evolution is central to many disciplines, including molecular dynamics, precision measurement, and molecule-based quantum technology. Details of this evolution are obscured when observing a statistical ensemble of molecules. Here, we report real-time observations of thermal radiation-driven transitions between individual states (jumps) of a single molecule. We reversed these jumps through microwave-driven transitions, which resulted in a 20-fold improvement in the time the molecule dwells in a chosen state. The measured transition rates showed anisotropy in the thermal environment, pointing to the possibility of using single molecules as in situ probes for the strengths of ambient fields. Our approaches for state detection and manipulation could apply to a wide range of species, facilitating their uses in fields including quantum science, molecular physics, and ion-neutral chemistry.