# Ultracold Molecule Assembly with Photonic Crystals

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using photonic crystal waveguides to significantly enhance the efficiency of ultracold molecule formation via photoassociation, enabling near-deterministic production of ground state molecules.

## Contribution

The paper proposes a new scheme that leverages strong coupling to photonic crystal modes to improve photoassociation efficiency and rate for ultracold molecules, surpassing previous limitations.

## Key findings

- Potential ground state molecule production efficiency > 90%
- Saturation rate > 10^6 molecules per second
- Enables new experiments in ultracold chemistry and quantum information

## Abstract

Photoassociation (PA) is a powerful technique to synthesize molecules directly and continuously from cold and ultracold atoms into deeply bound molecular states. In freespace, however, PA efficiency is constrained by the number of spontaneous decay channels linking the initial excited molecular state to a sea of final (meta)stable rovibronic levels. Here, we propose a novel scheme based on molecules strongly coupled to a guided photonic mode in a photonic crystal waveguide that turns PA into a powerful tool for near deterministic formation of ultracold molecules in their ground rovibrational level. Our example shows a potential ground state molecule production efficiency $> 90\%$, and a saturation rate $>10^6$ molecules per second. By combining state-of-the-art cold atomic and molecular physics with nanophotonic engineering, our scheme presents a novel experimental package for trapping, cooling, and optical manipulation of ultracold molecules, opening up new possibilities in the direction of ultracold chemistry and quantum information.