In search of molecular ions for optical cycling: A difficult road
Optical cycling, a continuous photon scattering off atoms or molecules, plays a central role in the quantum information science. While optical cycling has been experimentally achieved for many neutral species, few molecular ions have been investigated. We present a systematic theoretical search for diatomic molecular ions suitable for optical cycling using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods. Inspired by the electronic structure patterns of laser-cooled neutral molecules, we establish the design principles for molecular ions and explore various possible cationic molecular frameworks. The results show that identifying a perfect molecular ion for optical cycling is challenging, yet possible. Among various possible diatomic molecules we suggest several candidates, which require further attention from both theory and experiment: YF+, SiO+, PN+, SiBr+, and BO+. Related Research |
Funding is provided by:
 National Science Foundation |  U.S. Department of Energy |  U.S. Army Research Laboratory |  USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences |
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SSC-409, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0482
Phone: 213-740-4929 (Prof. Krylov), 213-740-0893 (Lab)
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