"New opportunities in quantum simulation with ultrapolar molecules"

"New opportunities in quantum simulation with ultrapolar molecules", Zoe Yan, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Chicago

Abstract: Ultracold molecules are an emerging platform for quantum science that combines the techniques of atomic physics pioneered over the last half century, including quantum-state control and single particle detection/manipulation, with molecules' inherently rich internal structure. I will present new efforts at UChicago toward building novel quantum phases of matter using the emerging technology of highly polar molecules cooled to nanokelvin temperatures. Specifically, we hope to realize exotic topological superfluids built from interacting gases of KAg molecules, which could feature extraordinary characteristics such as resistance to disorder, frictionless flow, and the emergence of Majorana particles. Another complementary goal is to leverage the strong dipole-dipole interactions to pioneer novel ways to load molecules into defect-free, low-entropy arrays for realizations of lattice spin models.



Bio: Zoe Yan is an assistant professor at the James Franck Institute and the Dept. of Physics, joining in August 2023. She studies experimental quantum many-body physics, using the platforms of ultracold atoms and molecules. Her experiments combine cutting-edge technologies in trapping and imaging quantum particles and tailoring their interactions to realize custom Hamiltonians.

Before joining UChicago, Zoe was a Dicke Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University. She earned her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S. with honors in physics from Stanford University. She has been awarded the Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists and the Packard Fellowship.