Trapping of ultracold polar molecules with a Thin Wire Electrostatic Trap

Abstract

We describe the realization of a dc electric-field trap for ultracold polar molecules, the thin-wire electrostatic trap (TWIST). The thin wires that form the electrodes of the TWIST allow us to superimpose the trap onto a magneto-optical trap (MOT). In our experiment, ultracold polar NaCs molecules in their electronic ground state are created in the MOT via photoassociation, achieving a continuous accumulation in the TWIST of molecules in low-field seeking states. Initial measurements show that the TWIST trap lifetime is limited only by the background pressure in the chamber.

4 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Continuous loading of an electrostatic trap for polar molecules

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Heteronuclear molecules in an optical dipole trap
• Numerical method for evolving the dipolar projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation