By Jay Lidington

Control of quantum chemistry at extremely cold temperatures came one step closer to reality this spring with the confinement of two disparate types of atoms in an Old Dominion University laboratory.

On April 30, after two years of research, Charles Sukenik, assistant professor of physics, successfully simultaneously confined ultracold rubidium and metastable argon atoms using laser light forces in a specially designed “magneto-optical trap.”

Trapping an alkali atom (rubidium) and a noble gas atom (argon) at temperatures near absolute zero had never been done, according to Sukenik. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that this opens up a whole new avenue of study in molecular physics at ultracold temperatures,” he noted.

The achievement also clears the way to numerous basic research studies in physics, astrophysics and chemistry. Eventual applications may include the building of complex molecules one atom at a time, the creation of novel molecular beams for lithography and new developments in quantum information storage.

“It is exciting,” said physics department chair Colm Whelan. “There has been a lot of effort put into trapping atoms in recent years but this is the first time anyone has succeeded in trapping two atoms from different groups in the periodic table at the same time.

“It is quite a breakthrough with potentially very significant implications for both chemistry and physics.”

Sukenik plans to continue the research and publish his findings in physics journals.