Observation of Bose–Einstein condensation of dipolar molecules

Niccolò Bigagli, Weijun Yuan, Siwei Zhang, Boris Bulatovic, Tijs Karman, Ian Stevenson and Sebastian Will ()
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Niccolò Bigagli: Columbia University
Weijun Yuan: Columbia University
Siwei Zhang: Columbia University
Boris Bulatovic: Columbia University
Tijs Karman: Radboud University
Ian Stevenson: Columbia University
Sebastian Will: Columbia University

Nature, 2024, vol. 631, issue 8020, 289-293

Abstract: Abstract Ensembles of particles governed by quantum mechanical laws exhibit intriguing emergent behaviour. Atomic quantum gases1,2, liquid helium3,4 and electrons in quantum materials5–7 all exhibit distinct properties because of their composition and interactions. Quantum degenerate samples of ultracold dipolar molecules promise the realization of new phases of matter and new avenues for quantum simulation8 and quantum computation9. However, rapid losses10, even when reduced through collisional shielding techniques11–13, have so far prevented evaporative cooling to a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). Here we report on the realization of a BEC of dipolar molecules. By strongly suppressing two- and three-body losses via enhanced collisional shielding, we evaporatively cool sodium–caesium molecules to quantum degeneracy and cross the phase transition to a BEC. The BEC reveals itself by a bimodal distribution when the phase-space density exceeds 1. BECs with a condensate fraction of 60(10)% and a temperature of 6(2) nK are created and found to be stable with a lifetime close to 2 s. This work opens the door to the exploration of dipolar quantum matter in regimes that have been inaccessible so far, promising the creation of exotic dipolar droplets14, self-organized crystal phases15 and dipolar spin liquids in optical lattices16.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07492-z

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