Progress towards deep-ultraviolet laser cooling of AlCl

Laser-cooled molecules promise access to a diverse range of research directions from ultracold chemistry to improved precision measurements. However, inefficient trap loading remains the key barrier preventing molecular magneto-optical traps (MOTs) from realizing large, dense samples of ultracold molecules with properties similar to their atomic counterparts. Our experiment aims to remove this barrier by realizing bright quasi-continuous beams of cold molecules [1] and by selecting a molecular species susceptible to large optical forces via photon scattering. Our molecule of choice, aluminum monochloride (AlCl), is projected to have favorable properties for laser cooling and efficient MOT loading, including a lack of spin-rotation structure and a strong optical transition in the deep-ultraviolet. This talk will present an update on experimental progress, including our tunable laser system capable of >1.8 W at 261.5 nm and our recent work using this light to characterize and manipulate a beam of AlCl from our cryogenic source.