Loading Stark-decelerated molecules into electrostatic quadrupole traps

Abstract

Beams of neutral polar molecules in a low-field seeking quantum state can be slowed down using a Stark decelerator, and can subsequently be loaded and confined in electrostatic quadrupole traps. The efficiency of the trap loading process is determined by the ability to couple the decelerated packet of molecules into the trap without loss of molecules and without heating. We discuss the inherent difficulties to obtain ideal trap loading, and describe and compare different trap loading strategies. A new "split-endcap" quadrupole trap design is presented that enables improved trap loading efficiencies. This is experimentally verified by comparing the trapping of OH radicals using the conventional and the new quadrupole trap designs.

References in corpus (10)

• Deceleration and electrostatic trapping of OH radicals
• Magneto-electrostatic trapping of ground state OH molecules
• Low-energy molecular collisions in a permanent magnetic trap
• Direct measurement of the radiative lifetime of vibrationally excited OH radicals
• The radiative lifetime of metastable CO ($a^3\Pi ,v=0$)
• Optical pumping of trapped neutral molecules by blackbody radiation
• Operation of a Stark decelerator with optimum acceptance
• Mitigation of loss within a molecular Stark decelerator
• A versatile electrostatic trap
• Optimizing the Stark-decelerator beamline for the trapping of cold molecules using evolutionary strategies

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Static trapping of polar molecules in a traveling wave decelerator
• Preparation of an ultra-cold sample of ammonia molecules for precision measurements
• Deceleration and trapping of heavy diatomic molecules using a ring-decelerator
• Collisions Between Ultracold Atoms and Cold Molecules in a Dual Electrostatic-Magnetic Trap
• Advanced switching schemes in a Stark decelerator
• Measurements of trap dynamics of cold OH molecules using resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization