Towards quantum simulation with ultracold polar molecules

Ultracold and quantum degenerate atomic gases have been exploited to study a vast array of novel and interesting physical phenomena ranging from fundamental studies of superfluidity to strongly-correlated many body systems. As the field has matured there has been a growing interest in the quest to produce similar gases of molecules, where the rich internal structure offers access to new, fascinating physics. One of the most promising routes to these riches is to exploit the ability to cool atomic gases to degeneracy before associating pairs of atoms to form diatomic molecules. In this context the formation of heteronuclear molecules is of particular interest as, in the ground state, the molecules exhibit a permanent electric dipole moment that gives rise to long-range anisotropic interactions. Such interactions dramatically modify the behaviour of the gas at ultracold temperatures and find many applications. One such application is in the area of quantum simulation where a regular array of interacting molecules confined on a three dimensional optical lattice is used to simulate problems more usually associated with condensed matter physics.
The goal of this project is to explore experimental implementations of quantum simulation protocols using ultracold molecules - either RbCs or CsYb. In the case of RbCs, our studies will investigate the use of rotational states of the molecule to encode a pseudo spin for simulation of quantum magnetism, whereas in CsYb experiments can exploit the spin of the unpaired electron. New work will focus on the development of optical lattices in 1D, 2D and 3D. Ultimately we will develop methods to probe the molecules at the level of single lattice sites in order to gain insight into the complex many-body dynamics in the lattice.