Longevity of strongly dipolar degenerate molecular gases

Determine whether quantum degenerate gases of dipolar molecules with strong dipole-dipole interactions are sufficiently long-lived to enable the observation of novel quantum phases driven by dipolar interactions.

Background

Ultracold dipolar molecules promise access to many-body phases governed by strong, long-range interactions, but historically suffered from rapid inelastic losses that prevented reaching and maintaining quantum degeneracy in strongly interacting regimes. Collisional shielding techniques have recently enabled degenerate molecular gases, though typically with relatively weak dipolar interactions.

The key unresolved issue highlighted in the paper’s introduction is whether degenerate molecular gases can remain stable long enough under strong dipolar interactions to observe interaction-driven phases. Establishing adequate lifetimes is essential for preparing, probing, and characterizing emergent many-body states such as droplets, supersolids, and dipolar crystals.