Beyer Lab

Research focus

ERC Starting Grant · 2023

Helium dimer Ultracold Molecules - a platform for fundamental physics and ultracold chemistry

Laser cooling of atoms has revolutionized physics and allowed studying nature with unprecedented sensitivity, precision and accuracy. With their additional degrees of freedom, ultracold molecules offer even more. However, reaching high densities and a high number of elastic collisions are the two major challenges remaining to achieve quantum degeneracy with molecules. 4 molecules were laser cooled and trapped in the last decade, but recent experiments have shown universal loss upon collisions caused by the formation of complexes and therefore preventing further cooling. Although not yet fully understood, the loss is favored by the large state densities of the heavy diatomic molecules used…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.