A Magneto-Optical Trap for Diatomic Molecules

POSTER

Abstract

The magneto-optical trap (MOT) has long been the workhorse for atomic physics and is a powerful technique to rapidly produce ultracold, dense samples of atoms. Extending this technique to produce cold, dense samples of a diverse set of molecules will revolutionize the study of strongly interacting quantum systems, precision measurement and physical chemistry. In this work, we will report on progress towards the realization of a 3 dimensional MOT for the polar molecule YO. We are implementing a chirped frequency laser slowing scheme, where the buffer gas cooled molecules are slowed to a trappable velocity of 10 m/s. The 3D trapping is generated with a quasi-cycling transition and an oscillating quadrupole magnetic field.

Authors

  • Mark Yeo

    • JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Matthew Hummon

    • JILA, University of CO, Boulder

  • Alejandra Collopy

    • JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Benjamin Stuhl

    • JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Boerge Hemmerling

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms

  • Eunmi Chae

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms

  • Garrett Drayna

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms

  • Aakash Ravi

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms

  • Maximilian Kuhnert

    • Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, TU Wien

  • Maurice Petzold

    • Institut f\"ur Quantenoptik, Leibniz Universit\"at Hannover

  • John Doyle

    • Department of Physics, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms

  • Jun Ye

    • JILA, NIST and the University of Colorado, Boulder