177 research outputs found
Quantum state preparation and control of single molecular ions
Preparing molecules at rest and in a highly pure quantum state is a long
standing dream in chemistry and physics, so far achieved only for a select set
of molecules in dedicated experimental setups. Here, a quantum-limited
combination of mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy is proposed that should
be applicable to a wide range of molecular ions. Excitation of electrons in the
molecule followed by uncontrolled decay and branching into several lower energy
states is avoided. Instead, the molecule is always connected to rotational
states within the electronic and vibrational ground-state manifold, while a
co-trapped atomic ion provides efficient entropy removal and allows for
extraction of information on the molecule. The outlined techniques might enable
preparation, manipulation and measurement of a large multitude of molecular ion
species with the same instrument, with applications including, but not limited
to, precise determination of molecular properties and fundamental tests of
physics.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, reformatted for resubmissio
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