Collisions and Laser Cooling of YO Molecules in a Crossed Dipole Trap

Demonstration of the first sub-Doppler MOT of laser cooled YO molecules has enabled efficient loading into optical conservative traps and the observation of bulk collisions. With Gray Molasse cooling achieving uK temperatures in a crossed dipole trap, we have reached a record phase space density of 1.8*10^-5. In the trap we study single partial wave collision rates across different spin mixtures and temperatures. We additionally report progress on narrowline Doppler cooling of YO molecules in the crossed dipole trap, and microwave shielding of inelastic collisions.