Ferroelectric nano-traps for polar molecules

Abstract

We propose and analyze an electrostatic-optical nano-scale trap for cold diatomic polar molecules. The main ingredient of our proposal is an square-array of ferroelectric nano-rods {with alternating polarization}. We show that, in contrast to electrostatic traps using the linear Stark effect, a quadratic Stark potential supports long-lived trapped states. The molecules are kept at a fixed height from the nano-rods by a standing-wave optical dipole trap. For the molecules and materials considered, we find that nano-traps with trap frequency up to 1MHz, ground-state width $\sim20$nm with lattice periodicity of $\sim 200$nm. Analyzing the loss mechanisms due to non-adiabaticity, surface-induced radiative transitions, and laser-induced transitions, we show the existence of trapped states with life-time $\sim 1$s, competitive with current traps created via optical mechanisms. As an application we extend our discussion to an 1D array of nano-traps to simulate of a long-range spin Hamiltonian in our structure.