Cold molecules offer intriguing properties on which new operational principles can be based (e.g., quantum computing) or that may allow researchers to study a qualitatively new behavior of matter (e.g., Bose-Einstein condensates structured by the electric dipole interaction). This interdisciplinary book discusses novel methods to create and confine molecules at temperatures near absolute zero (1 microKelvin to 1 Kelvin) and surveys the research done with and on cold molecules to date. It is evident that this research has irreversibly changed atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum information science. Its impact on condensed-matter physics, astrophysics, and physical chemistry is becoming apparent as well. This monograph provides seasoned researchers as well as students entering the field with a valuable companion, one which, in addition, will help to foster their identity within their institutions and the physics and chemistry communities at large.
Features a foreword by Nobel Laureate Dudley Herschbach