1D Laser-cooling of an Asymmetric Top Molecule

Ultracold molecules are powerful tools for exploring new quantum phenomena, including in the areas of quantum information and precision searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. Over the past decade, the laser-cooling toolkit has been fully extended from atoms into the rich and intricate world of molecules, with deep laser cooling demonstrated in diatomic species (AlF, BaF, CaF, CaH, SrF, YO, YbF), linear triatomic molecules (CaOH, SrOH), and larger symmetric top molecules (CaOCH₃). In this talk, we report our progress of achieving 1D laser cooling of CaNH₂ molecules, which belong to the class of asymmetric top molecules. The general structure of ATMs endow these molecules with unique, powerful properties for pursuing a broad range of quantum science goals.