Prof. Dr. Silke Ospelkaus-Schwarzer from the Institute of Quantum Optics has received one of the coveted Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). The award includes research funding for her project TriTramo of two million euros over a period of five years.
The goal of the funded project TriTramo (Trimers, tetramers and molecular BEC) is to realize the next milestone on the way to increasingly complex quantum systems at ultracold temperatures. By precision control of collisions of diatomic molecules, they are further cooled. If successful, a so-called Bose-Einstein condensate of molecules can be produced, which can be used to discover and study new quantum phases due to the dipolar interaction between the molecules. Furthermore, collision processes and light are used to produce and control small polyatomic molecules - trimers and tetramers - from diatomic molecules in a controlled manner and to develop a detailed understanding of their properties. The system allows previously impossible insights into the structure of simple molecular systems.
Congratulations from the LNQE!
See also: Press release of LUH
