Session B26: Focus Session: Photophysics of Cold Molecules II

11:15 AM–2:15 PM, Monday, March 10, 2008
Morial Convention Center - 218

Sponsoring Unit: DCP
Chair: Roland Wester, University of Freiburg

Abstract ID: BAPS.2008.MAR.B26.2

Abstract: B26.00002 : Magnetoelectrostatic trapping of neutral OH molecules

11:51 AM–12:03 PM

Preview Abstract

Authors:

  Brian Sawyer
    (JILA/University of Colorado)

  Benjamin Stuhl
    (JILA/University of Colorado)

  Benjamin Lev
    (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

  Mark Yeo
    (JILA/University of Colorado)

  Dajun Wang
    (JILA/NIST/University of Colorado)

  Jun Ye
    (JILA/NIST/University of Colorado)

Advances in cold molecule production promise to profoundly impact research on precision measurement, quantum information, and controlled chemistry. To this end, we employ a Stark decelerator to remove 99.5{\%} of the center-of-mass kinetic energy of a supersonic beam of ground-state OH molecules. We subsequently trap a 70 mK sample of the decelerated molecules at a density of $>$10$^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$ within a magnetic quadrupole whose center lies $\sim $1cm from the decelerator exit. Our magnetoelectrostatic trap (MET) design allows for the addition of an electric field of variable magnitude to the trapped sample to facilitate polar-molecule collision studies. We report progress toward observation of cold collisions between samples of polar molecules.

To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2008.MAR.B26.2