Laser cooling of molecules

Tarbutt, M. R.

doi:10.1080/00107514.2018.1576338

Cited by 105 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Weak traps require much lower molecule temperatures than were achieved in recent eEDM experiments, and therefore some form of deeper cooling is necessary. Direct laser cooling of molecules [25][26][27][28][29] has seen rapid growth in recent years; SrF [28,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36], CaF [37][38][39][40][41][42], and YO [43][44][45] have all been laser-slowed, cooled, and transferred to long-lived traps. YbF [46] molecules have been transversely laser-cooled, although not yet cooled in three dimensions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser-cooled polyatomic molecules for improved electron electric dipole moment searches

et al. 2020

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Doppler and Sisyphus cooling of 174 YbOH are achieved and studied. This polyatomic molecule has high sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model and represents a new class of species for future high-precision probes of new T-violating physics. The transverse temperature of the YbOH beam is reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude to < 600 μK and the phase-space density is increased by a factor of > 6 via Sisyphus cooling. We develop a full numerical model of the laser cooling of YbOH and find excellent agreement with the data. We project that laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping of long-lived samples of YbOH molecules are within reach and these will allow a high sensitivity probe of the electric dipole moment of the electron. The approach demonstrated here is easily generalized to other isotopologues of YbOH that have enhanced sensitivity to other symmetryviolating electromagnetic moments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser-cooled polyatomic molecules for improved electron electric dipole moment searches

et al. 2020

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“…Preferably, the hyperfine structure of the molecule should be simple. Molecules with a 1 Σ ground state and a 1 Π excited state are very attractive candidates for laser cooling [52][53][54]. However, none have been laser-cooled so far.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectroscopic characterization of aluminum monofluoride with relevance to laser cooling and trapping

et al. 2019

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Here we report on spectroscopic measurements of the aluminum monofluoride molecule (AlF) that are relevant to laser cooling and trapping experiments. We measure the detailed energy level structure of AlF in the X 1 Σ + electronic ground state, in the A 1 Π state, and in the metastable a 3 Π state. We determine the rotational, vibrational and electronic branching ratios from the A 1 Π state. We also study how the rotational levels split and shift in external electric and magnetic fields. We find that AlF is an excellent candidate for laser cooling on any Q-line of the A 1 Π -X 1 Σ + transition and for trapping at high densities.The energy levels in the X 1 Σ + , v = 0 state and within each Ω-manifold in the a 3 Π, v = 0 state are determined with a relative accuracy of a few kHz, using laser-radio-frequency multiple resonance and ionization detection schemes in a jet-cooled, pulsed molecular beam. To determine the hyperfine and Λ-doubling parameters we measure transitions throughout the 0.1 MHz -66 GHz range, between rotational levels in the X 1 Σ + , v = 0 state and between rotational and Λ-doublet levels in all three spin-orbit manifolds of the a 3 Π, v = 0 state. We measure the hyperfine splitting in the A 1 Π state using continuous wave (CW) laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of the A 1 Π, v = 0 ← X 1 Σ + , v = 0 band. The resolution is limited by the short radiative lifetime of the A 1 Π, v = 0 state, which we experimentally determine to be 1.90 ± 0.03 ns. The hyperfine mixing of the lowest rotational levels in the A 1 Π state causes a small loss from the the main laser cooling transition of 10 −5 . The off-diagonal vibrational branching from the A 1 Π, v = 0 state is measured to be (5.60 ± 0.02) × 10 −3 in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The strength of the spin-forbidden A 1 Π, v = 0 → a 3 Π, v = 0 transition is measured to be seven orders of magnitude lower than the strength of the A 1 Π, v = 0 → X 1 Σ + , v = 0 transition. We determine the electric dipole moments µ(X) = 1.515 ± 0.004 Debye, µ(a) = 1.780 ± 0.003 Debye and µ(A) = 1.45 ± 0.02 Debye in X 1 Σ + , v = 0, a 3 Π, v = 0 and A 1 Π, v = 0, respectively, by recording CW laser excitation spectra in electric fields up to 150 kV/cm.

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“…Molecules with particular electronic structure and bonding properties avoid this problem [5][6][7], which has made laser cooling and trapping of molecules a reality in the last few years [8][9][10][11][12][13]. Suitable molecules typically have a very simple structure of non-bonding s electrons localized on a metal center [6,7,14], such as SrF [11], SrOH [15], CaF [12,13], YO [10,16], TlF [17], YbF [18], BaF [19,20], and isoelectronic analogues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypermetallic polar molecules for precision measurements

O’Rourke

Hutzler

2019

Phys. Rev. A

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Laser cooling is a powerful method to control molecules for applications in precision measurement, as well as quantum information, many-body physics, and fundamental chemistry. However, many optically-active metal centers in valence states which are promising for these applications, especially precision measurement, are difficult to laser cool. In order to extend the control afforded by laser cooling to a wider array of promising atoms, we consider the use of small, hypermetallic molecules that contain multiple metal centers. We provide a detailed analysis of YbCCCa and YbCCAl as prototypical examples with different spin multiplicities, and consider their feasibility for precision measurements making use of the heavy Yb atom. We find that these molecules are linear and feature metal-centered valence electrons, and study the complex hybridization and spin structures that are relevant to photon cycling and laser cooling. Our findings suggest that this hypermetallic approach may be a versatile tool for experimental control of metal species that do not otherwise efficiently cycle photons, and could present a new polyatomic platform for state-of-the-art precision measurements.

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Laser cooling of molecules

Cited by 105 publications

References 81 publications

Laser-cooled polyatomic molecules for improved electron electric dipole moment searches

Laser-cooled polyatomic molecules for improved electron electric dipole moment searches

Spectroscopic characterization of aluminum monofluoride with relevance to laser cooling and trapping

Hypermetallic polar molecules for precision measurements

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