Takamasa Momose
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Research and Teaching Interests
Research in Professor Momose's group focuses on the physics and chemistry of extremely cold molecules, with the aim of utilizing cold and ultracold molecules across a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines.
In chemistry, we investigate the unique reaction dynamics intrinsic to molecules at low temperatures. Chemical processes under these conditions can differ dramatically from those occurring at room temperature, as quantum effects—such as tunneling, resonance phenomena, and the enhanced wave-like nature of molecules—become significantly more prominent.
In physics, we employ cold molecules to study fundamental symmetry violations in nature. A particular area of interest is parity violation in chiral molecules, which may offer insight into the origin of biomolecular homochirality. While producing cold molecules of chemical relevance remains a technical challenge, recent advances—including those from our lab—in cooling and trapping techniques below 1 K now make it possible to explore a wide array of phenomena. These developments are opening up a novel interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physical chemistry and chemical physics.
At present, Professor Momose’s laboratory operates multiple advanced systems to produce and study cold and ultracold molecules below 4 K. These include Zeeman and Stark decelerators, counter-rotating nozzles, microwave molecular traps, and matrix-isolation systems using parahydrogen and superfluid helium. All cold molecule research projects are supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the CRUCS (Canadian Centre for Research on Ultra-Cold Systems) and CHIROS (Chirality Research on Origins and Separation) initiatives.
Prof. Momose is also involved in research projects in sub-atomic physics (SAP) for the study of fundamental symmetries.
The projects we are actively working on include:
(1) Deceleration and trapping of cold free radicals
(2) High resolution matrix isolation spectroscopy of molecules in parahydrogen crystals and superfluid helium nano-droplets.
(3) Parity violation in chiral molecules and the search for the origin of homochirality
(4) Measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron (TUCAN at TRIUMF) for CP violation
(5) Laser cooling of antihydrogen (ALPHA at CERN) for CPT violation and matter-antimatter gravity measurements.
2025 Summer
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Curriculum Vitae
B.Sc, Kyoto University, Japan (1984); Ph.D., Kyoto University, Japan (1991); Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Chicago (T. Oka, 1991-93); Assistant Professor, Kyoto University (1988-93); Lecturer, Kyoto University (1993-95); Associate Professor of Chemistry, Kyoto University, (1995-2005); PRESTO fellow, Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) (1998-2001); Associate Professor, Fukui Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Kyoto University, (Joint Appointment, 2003-2005); Professor, UBC (2005 -); The Chemical Society of Japan Young Chemists Award (1995); The PCCP Lectureship (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015); G.C. Pimentel Award for advances in Matrix Isolation Spectroscopy (2016); The Spectroscopical Society of Japan Award (2020); Killam Faculty Research Prize (2024)