Structure of the Alkali-metal-atom-Strontium molecular ions: towards photoassociation and formation of cold molecular ions

The potential energy curves, permanent and transition dipole moments, and the static dipolar polarizability, of molecular ions composed of one alkali-metal atom and a Strontium ion are determined with a quantum chemistry approach. The molecular ions are treated as effective two-electron systems and are treated using effective core potentials including core polarization, large gaussian basis sets, and full configuration interaction. In the perspective of upcoming experiments aiming at merging cold atom and cold ion traps, possible paths for radiative charge exchange, photoassociation of a cold Lithium or Rubidium atom and a Strontium ion are discussed, as well as the formation of stable molecular ions

CERN and the Environment

The impact of CERN’s activities on the surrounding environment is carefully monitored by the Organization via a complete environmental monitoring programme, which is defined and run in agreement with the authorities of Switzerland and France. This programme covers both radiological and conventional aspects. So far the environmental impact of CERN was shown to be negligible. In particular, CERN’s radiological impact is a fraction of the variation of the natural exposure at different locations of the surrounding region. As the site of the Organization is on the territory of two countries and straddles the Swiss-French border, the implementation of its environmental policy requires specific procedures and a very transparent communication towards the Host States authorities and the public opinion. This paper reports the official CERN speech delivered for the opening of the international conference Enviroinfo 2004 that was held at CERN in October 2004

Long-range interactions between polar bialkali ground-state molecules in arbitrary vibrational levels

We have calculated the isotropic $C\_6$ coefficients characterizing the long-range van der Waals interaction between two identical heteronuclear alkali-metal diatomic molecules in the same arbitrary vibrational level of their ground electronic state $X^1\Sigma^+$. We consider the ten species made up of $^7$Li, $^{23}$Na, $^{39}$K, $^{87}$Rb and $^{133}$Cs. Following our previous work [M.~Lepers \textit{et.~al.}, Phys.~Rev.~A \textbf{88}, 032709 (2013)] we use the sum-over-state formula inherent to the second-order perturbation theory, composed of the contributions from the transitions within the ground state levels, from the transition between ground-state and excited state levels, and from a crossed term. These calculations involve a combination of experimental and quantum-chemical data for potential energy curves and transition dipole moments. We also investigate the case where the two molecules are in different vibrational levels and we show that the Moelwyn-Hughes approximation is valid provided that it is applied for each of the three contributions to the sum-over-state formula. Our results are particularly relevant in the context of inelastic and reactive collisions between ultracold bialkali molecules, in deeply bound or in Feshbach levels

Calculation of accurate permanent dipole moments of the lowest 1,3Σ+^{1,3} \Sigma^+ states of heteronuclear alkali dimers using extended basis sets

The obtention of ultracold samples of dipolar molecules is a current challenge which requires an accurate knowledge of their electronic properties to guide the ongoing experiments. In this paper, we systematically investigate the ground state and the lowest triplet state of mixed alkali dimers (involving Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) using a standard quantum chemistry approach based on pseudopotentials for atomic core representation, gaussian basis sets, and effective terms for core polarization effects. We emphasize on the convergence of the results for permanent dipole moments regarding the size of the gaussian basis set, and we discuss their predicted accuracy by comparing to other theoretical calculations or available experimental values. We also revisit the difficulty to compare computed potential curves among published papers, due to the differences in the modelization of core-core interaction.Comment: accepted to J. Chem. Phy

Formation of ultracold RbCs molecules by photoassociation

The formation of ultracold metastable RbCs molecules is observed in a double species magneto-optical trap through photoassociation below the ^85Rb(5S_1/2)+^133Cs(6P_3/2) dissociation limit followed by spontaneous emission. The molecules are detected by resonance enhanced two-photon ionization. Using accurate quantum chemistry calculations of the potential energy curves and transition dipole moment, we interpret the observed photoassociation process as occurring at short internuclear distance, in contrast with most previous cold atom photoassociation studies. The vibrational levels excited by photoassociation belong to the 5th 0^+ or the 4th 0^- electronic states correlated to the Rb(5P_1/2,3/2)+Cs(6S_1/2) dissociation limit. The computed vibrational distribution of the produced molecules shows that they are stabilized in deeply bound vibrational states of the lowest triplet state. We also predict that a noticeable fraction of molecules is produced in the lowest level of the electronic ground state

Electronic structure of the Magnesium hydride molecular ion

In this paper, using a standard quantum chemistry approach based on pseudopotentials for atomic core representation, Gaussian basis sets, and effective core polarization potentials, we investigate the electronic properties of the MgH$^+$ ion. We first determine potential energy curves for several states using different basis sets and discuss their predicted accuracy by comparing our values of the well depths and position with other available results. We then calculate permanent and transition dipole moments for several transitions. Finally for the first time, we calculate the static dipole polarizability of MgH$^+$ as function of the interatomic distance. This study represents the first step towards the modeling of collisions between trapped cold Mg$^+$ ions and H$_2$ molecules.Comment: submitted to J. Phys. B, special issue on Cold trapped ion

Optimal trapping wavelengths of Cs2_2 molecules in an optical lattice

The present paper aims at finding optimal parameters for trapping of Cs$_2$ molecules in optical lattices, with the perspective of creating a quantum degenerate gas of ground-state molecules. We have calculated dynamic polarizabilities of Cs$_2$ molecules subject to an oscillating electric field, using accurate potential curves and electronic transition dipole moments. We show that for some particular wavelengths of the optical lattice, called "magic wavelengths", the polarizability of the ground-state molecules is equal to the one of a Feshbach molecule. As the creation of the sample of ground-state molecules relies on an adiabatic population transfer from weakly-bound molecules created on a Feshbach resonance, such a coincidence ensures that both the initial and final states are favorably trapped by the lattice light, allowing optimized transfer in agreement with the experimental observation