Dynamics of a buffer-gas-loaded, deep optical trap for molecules

Abstract

We describe an approach to optically trapping small, chemically stable molecules at cryogenic temperatures by buffer-gas loading a deep optical dipole trap. The ~10 K trap depth will be produced by a tightly-focused, 1064-nm cavity capable of reaching intensities of hundreds of GW/cm${}^2$. Molecules will be directly buffer-gas loaded into the trap using a helium buffer gas at 1.5 K. The very far-off-resonant, quasielectrostatic trapping mechanism is insensitive to a molecule's internal state, energy level structure, and its electric and magnetic dipole moment. Here, we theoretically investigate the trapping and loading dynamics, as well as the heating and loss rates, and conclude that $10^4$-$10^6$ molecules are likely to be trapped. Our trap would open new possibilities in molecular spectroscopy, studies of cold chemical reactions, and precision measurement, amongst other fields of physics.

34 pages, 7 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Electrostatic trapping of N${}_2$ molecules in high Rydberg states
• Single-photon loading of polar molecules into an optical trap
• Hyperfine and Zeeman interactions in ultracold collisions of molecular hydrogen with atomic lithium
• Open quantum systems beyond equilibrium: Lindblad equation and path integral molecular dynamics
• Ab Initio Calculations of the Static and Dynamic Polarizability of BaOH