Quantum interference in atom-exchange reactions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Yi-Xiang; Zhu, Lingbang; Luke, Jeshurun; Houwman, J. J. Arfor; Babin, Mark C.; Hu, Ming-Guang; Ni, Kang-Kuen
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Harvard University; University of Innsbruck; Harvard University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-9389
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adl6570
• 发表日期: 2024-06-07
• 页码: 1117-1121
• 关键词: laser control; plus hd; entanglement; photodissociation; gas

摘要

Chemical reactions, in which bonds break and form, are highly dynamic quantum processes. A fundamental question is whether coherence can be preserved in chemical reactions and then harnessed to generate entangled products. Here we investigated this question by studying the 2KRb -> K-2 + Rb-2 reaction at 500 nanokelvins, focusing on the nuclear spin degrees of freedom. We prepared the initial nuclear spins in KRb (potassium-rubidium) in an entangled state by lowering the magnetic field to where the spin-spin interaction dominates and characterized the preserved coherence in nuclear spin wave function after the reaction. We observed an interference pattern that is consistent with full coherence at the end of the reaction, suggesting that entanglement prepared within the reactants could be redistributed through the atom-exchange process.