Cooling Molecules to MicroKelvin Temperatures: Deceleration, Trapping and Sympathetic Cooling for Quantum Simulation

All matter is governed by quantum mechanics, but there are many important properties that are impossible to model on conventional computers. When there are many particles present and every particle interacts appreciably with every other, the quantum behaviour of the bulk cannot easily be understood from that of the constituents. From such strongly interacting quantum systems emerge extraordinary and fascinating phenomena such as high-temperature superconductivity and exotic forms of magnetism. These phenomena have many potential applications, but many of them are poorly understood.In an early work on quantum computation, Feynman suggested that the only way to model these strongly interacting quantum systems would be to construct a quantum simulator - a system of interacting quantum particles whose interactions can be controlled and tuned. The goal of this project is to make this futuristic idea into a reality using ultracold molecules, at temperatures within a millionth of a degree above absolute zero.