Manufacturing a thin wire electrostatic trap (TWIST) for ultracold polar molecules

We present a detailed description on how to build a Thin WIre electroStatic Trap (TWIST) for ultracold polar molecules. It is the first design of an electrostatic trap that can be superimposed directly onto a magneto optical trap (MOT). We can thus continuously produce ultracold polar molecules via photoassociation from a two species MOT and instantaneously trap them in the TWIST without the need for complex transfer schemes. Despite the spatial overlap of the TWIST and the MOT, the two traps can be operated and optimized completely independently due to the complementary nature of the utilized trapping mechanisms.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, updated conten

Research Prospectus: Screening for Cervical Cancer

From our proposed study on screening for cervical cancer, we expect to obtain guidelines for improving the design of cervical cancer screening programs. This can be accomplished by achieving four intermediate objectives. (a) Resolve important uncertainties in our knowledge of the natural history of cervical cancer. (b) Elucidate relations between design factors of a screening program and the composition of the population which volunteers to be screened. (c) Formulate an optimization model using information developed in the first two activities. This model would choose an optimal screening policy given an assumed steady-state population and given various levels of resources. (d) Create a simulation model (or adapt an existing one) to study questions of time-phasing and implementation of the policies developed in the third activity. The methods we anticipate using and the data we will require for each of the four objectives are discussed

Trapping of ultracold polar molecules with a Thin Wire Electrostatic Trap

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.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure