Toward Laser Cooling of CaF

ORAL

Abstract

The prospects of novel physics employing polar cold molecules encompass quantum computing and simulations, controlled ultra-cold chemistry and precision measurements. However, a method liable to bring a general class of chemically diverse molecules to the ultracold regime still needs to be developed. We report on the progress of experiments to laser cool CaF molecules, including the implementation of a magneto-optical trap (MOT). We use a 2-stage buffer-gas cooled beam source to produce a cold and slow beam of particles [1]. In this experiment, we plan to load the trap from this buffer-gas source. As a precursor to working with CaF, we successfully implemented the first buffer-gas loaded MOT of Yb, without the use of a Zeeman slower, but using only a non-chirped slowing laser. The lifetime of the MOT was measured to be $>100$\,ms, with the distance between the source and the MOT $\sim 30$\,cm. We describe a scheme for the laser cooling and magneto-optical confinement of CaF molecules, following an approach similar to those used in the cooling of SrF and YO [2,3].\\[0pt] [1] N.R. Hutzler, et al., Chem. Rev. 112, 4803 (2012). 2. E.F. Shuman, et al., Nature 467, 820 (2010). 3. M.T. Hummon, et al., arXiv:1209.4069 (2012)

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Authors

  • Boerge Hemmerling

    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

  • Eunmi Chae

    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

  • Hsin-I Lu

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

  • Mark Yeo

    JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

  • Matthew T. Hummon

    JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

  • Alejandra Collopy

    JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

  • Benjamin Stuhl

    JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, JILA / University of Colorado

  • Jun Ye

    JILA, NIST, University of Colorado, Boulder, JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA, JILA/University of Colorado at Boulder, JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, JILA, University of CO, Boulder and NIST, JILA, NIST and University of Colorado-Boulder, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado-Boulder, JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Department of Physics, JILA, NIST, and University of Colorado-Boulder

  • John Doyle

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