Large atom number dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms

We present the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms with large atom numbers. The MOT simultaneously contains 5.2x10^9 6Li-atoms and 8.0x10^9 40K-atoms, which are continuously loaded by a Zeeman slower for 6Li and a 2D-MOT for 40K. The atom sources induce capture rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li-atoms/s and 1.4x10^9 40K-atoms/s. Trap losses due to light-induced interspecies collisions of ~65% were observed and could be minimized to ~10% by using low magnetic field gradients and low light powers in the repumping light of both atomic species. The described system represents the starting point for the production of a large-atom number quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixture

Slow Molecules Produced by Photodissociation

A simple method to control molecular translation with a chemical reaction is demonstrated. Slow NO molecules have been produced by partially canceling the molecular beam velocity of NO$_2$ with the recoil velocity of the NO photofragment. The NO$_2$ molecules were photodissociated using a UV laser pulse polarized parallel to the molecular beam. The spatial profiles of NO molecules showed two peaks corresponding to decelerated and accelerated molecules, in agreement with theoretical prediction. A significant portion of the decelerated NO molecules stayed around the initial dissociation positions even several hundred nanoseconds after their production.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

PROBING THE MOLECULAR DYNAMICS OF A Cu(CD3_3OD) CLUSTER WITH PHOTODETACHMENT-PHOTOIONIZATION SPECTROSCOPY

Author Institution: JILA/Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309; Department of Chemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210We report the femtosecond nuclear dynamics of neutral Cu(CD$_3$OD) van der Waals clusters, investigated using photodetachment-photoionization spectroscopy. Photodetachment of Cu(CD$_3$OD) anion with a 150 fs 400 nm laser pulse produces a vibrationally excited neutral complex that undergoes ligand reorientation and dissociation. The time evolving neutral is interrogated by delayed femtosecond resonant two photon ionization. This study shows that the nascent Cu(CD$_3$OD) complex dissociates on prompt (3 ps) and slower timescales (30 ps). The prompt component reflects direct dissociation upon photodetachment, while the slower dissociation arises from the coupling of CD$_3$OD molecular rotation into the Cu-(CD$_3$OD) dissociation coordinate. Theoretical investigations provide insight to the nature of the molecular dynamics which produce the observed dissociation characteristics. Supported by NSF and AFOS