Freezing Chemical Reactions to Investigate the Quantum Realm (IMAGE)
Caption
Chemical reactions transform reactants to products through an intermediate state where bonds break and form. Often too short-lived to observe, this phase has so-far eluded intimate investigation.
By "freezing out" the rotation, vibration, and motion of the reactants (here, potassium-rubidium molecules) to a temperature of 500 nanokelvin (barely above absolute zero temperature), the number of energetically allowed exits for the products is limited. "Trapped" in the intermediate for far longer, researchers can then observe this phase directly with photoionization detection. This technique paves the way towards the quantum control of chemical reactions with ultracold molecules.
Credit
Ming-Guang Hu
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