Ultracold Polyatomic Molecules for Quantum Science and Precision Measurements

Polar molecules, due to their intrinsic electric dipole moment and their controllable complexity, are a powerful platform for precision measurement searches for physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM) and for quantum simulation/computation. This has led to many experimental efforts to cool and control molecules at the quantum level. Due to their qualitatively unique rotational and vibrational modes, polyatomic molecules (molecules containing three or more atoms) have attracted recent focus as quantum resources that have distinct advantages and challenges compared to both atoms and diatomic molecules. Here we discuss results on the laser cooling of polyatomic molecules into the ultracold regime and future prospects for the use of polyatomic molecules to greatly improve fundamental symmetry tests, searches for dark matter, and the search for CP-violating BSM physics.