Repulsive shield between polar molecules

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method using electric and microwave fields to create a repulsive shield between polar molecules, reducing inelastic collisions and promoting elastic interactions for better control.

Contribution

It presents a novel technique to suppress inelastic collisions and enhance elastic interactions in cold polar molecules using combined static and microwave fields.

Findings

Suppression of inelastic collision rates.

Enhanced elastic scattering cross sections.

Potential for creating crystalline molecular structures.

Abstract

We propose and analyze a technique that allows to suppress inelastic collisions and simultaneously enhance elastic interactions between cold polar molecules. The main idea is to cancel the leading dipole-dipole interaction with a suitable combination of static electric and microwave fields in such a way that the remaining van-der-Waals-type potential forms a three-dimensional repulsive shield. We analyze the elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections relevant for evaporative cooling of polar molecules and discuss the prospect for the creation of crystalline structures.