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Exotic atoms and molecules are forms of basic matter in which one subatomic particle is replaced by another with the same charge. For instance, an electron can be replaced with a muon, a pion or an antiproton. Positronium is made by swapping the proton in a hydrogen atom for a positron.
Precision laser spectroscopy of ground-state electromagnetic moments and nuclear charge radii of indium shows that 100Sn has closed proton and neutron shells. The results serve as a benchmark for future theoretical models.
The one-dimensional laser cooling of positronium enables testing of quantum electrodynamics and could realize Bose–Einstein condensation in positronium.
Ultracold polyatomic molecules can be created by electroassociation in a degenerate Fermi gas of microwave-dressed polar molecules through a field-linked resonance.
Raman sideband cooling is a method used to prepare atoms and ions in their vibrational ground state. This technique has now been extended to molecules trapped in optical tweezer arrays.
Interacting emitters are the fundamental building blocks of quantum optics and quantum information devices. Pairs of organic molecules embedded in a crystal can become permanently strongly interacting when they are pumped with intense laser light.
A promising pathway towards the laser cooling of a molecule containing a radioactive atom has been identified. The unique structure of such a molecule means that it can act as a magnifying lens to probe fundamental physics.
Systems of neutral atoms are gradually gaining currency as a promising candidate for realizing large-scale quantum computing. The achievement of a record-high fidelity in quantum operation with alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms is a case in point.
