Abstract
We use microwaves to engineer repulsive long-range interactions between ultracold polar molecules. The resulting shielding suppresses various loss mechanisms and provides large elastic cross sections. Hyperfine interactions limit the shielding under realistic conditions, but a magnetic field allows suppression of the losses to below . The mechanism and optimum conditions for shielding differ substantially from those proposed by Gorshkov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 073201 (2008)], and do not require cancellation of the long-range dipole-dipole interaction that is vital to many applications.
- Received 10 June 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.163401
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