Electrical Manipulation of Quantum Coherence in a Two-Level Molecular System.

ABSTRACT

We report the manipulation of ultrafast quantum coherence of a two-level single hydrogen molecular system by employing static electric field from the sample bias in a femtosecond terahertz scanning tunneling microscope. A H_{2} molecule adsorbed on the polar Cu_{2}N surface develops an electric dipole and exhibits a giant Stark effect. An avoided crossing of the quantum state energy levels is derived from the resonant frequency of the single H_{2} two levels in a double-well potential. The dephasing time of the initial wave packet can also be changed by applying the electric field. The electrical manipulation for different tunneling gaps in three dimensions allows quantification of the surface electrostatic fields at the atomic scale. Our work demonstrated the potential application of molecules as controllable two-level molecular systems.