Quantum control of cold molecular collisions using Stark-induced adiabatic Raman passage

One of the most fundamental goals in chemical physics is to understand the interaction forces that bind matter together at the quantum level. Molecular scattering experiments are the foremost tool with which to interrogate these forces, but the amount of detailed information that can be extracted from these experiments is limited by how precisely the input and output quantum states are defined. This talk will present the progress made by our group towards completely quantum state controlled scattering experiments. We first developed the Stark-induced adiabatic Raman passage technique to prepare specific internal molecular quantum states in simple molecules, and then used this technique to study the rotationally inelastic scattering of state-prepared molecules at very low collision energies. Under these conditions, nearly complete control over the quantum states was achieved, allowing us to experimentally derive insight into the dynamics of molecular scattering. This work shows the power of complete control over the input quantum states and complete measurement of the output quantum states to understand the molecular-scale world experimentally.