75 research outputs found
Sensitivity of rotational transitions in CH and CD to a possible variation of fundamental constants
Field-linked States of Ultracold Polar Molecules
We explore the character of a novel set of ``field-linked'' states that were
predicted in [A. V. Avdeenkov and J. L. Bohn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 043006
(2003)]. These states exist at ultralow temperatures in the presence of an
electrostatic field, and their properties are strongly dependent on the field's
strength. We clarify the nature of these quasi-bound states by constructing
their wave functions and determining their approximate quantum numbers. As the
properties of field-linked states are strongly defined by anisotropic dipolar
and Stark interactions, we construct adiabatic surfaces as functions of both
the intermolecular distance and the angle that the intermolecular axis makes
with the electric field. Within an adiabatic approximation we solve the 2-D
Schrodinger equation to find bound states, whose energies correlate well with
resonance features found in fully-converged multichannel scattering
calculations
A continuous source of translationally cold dipolar molecules
The Stark interaction of polar molecules with an inhomogeneous electric field
is exploited to select slow molecules from a room-temperature reservoir and
guide them into an ultrahigh vacuum chamber. A linear electrostatic quadrupole
with a curved section selects molecules with small transverse and longitudinal
velocities. The source is tested with formaldehyde (H2CO) and deuterated
ammonia (ND3). With H2CO a continuous flux is measured of approximately 10^9/s
and a longitudinal temperature of a few K. The data are compared with the
result of a Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures v2: small changes in the abstract, text and
references. Figures 1 & 2 regenerated to prevent errors in the pd
Superfluid pairing in a polarized dipolar Fermi gas
We calculate the critical temperature of a superfluid phase transition in a
polarized Fermi gas of dipolar particles. In this case the order parameter is
anisotropic and has a nontrivial energy dependence. Cooper pairs do not have a
definite value of the angular momentum and are coherent superpositions of all
odd angular momenta. Our results describe prospects for achieving the
superfluid transition in single-component gases of fermionic polar molecules.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Molecular Fountain
The resolution of any spectroscopic or interferometric experiment is
ultimately limited by the total time a particle is interrogated. We here
demonstrate the first molecular fountain, a development which permits hitherto
unattainably long interrogation times with molecules. In our experiments,
ammonia molecules are decelerated and cooled using electric fields, launched
upwards with a velocity between 1.4 and 1.9\,m/s and observed as they fall back
under gravity. A combination of quadrupole lenses and bunching elements is used
to shape the beam such that it has a large position spread and a small velocity
spread (corresponding to a transverse temperature of 10\,K and a
longitudinal temperature of 1\,K) when the molecules are in free fall,
while being strongly focused at the detection region. The molecules are in free
fall for up to 266\,milliseconds, making it possible to perform sub-Hz
measurements in molecular systems and paving the way for stringent tests of
fundamental physics theories
Deceleration and trapping of heavy diatomic molecules using a ring-decelerator
We present an analysis of the deceleration and trapping of heavy diatomic
molecules in low-field seeking states by a moving electric potential. This
moving potential is created by a 'ring-decelerator', which consists of a series
of ring-shaped electrodes to which oscillating high voltages are applied.
Particle trajectory simulations have been used to analyze the deceleration and
trapping efficiency for a group of molecules that is of special interest for
precision measurements of fundamental discrete symmetries. For the typical case
of the SrF molecule in the (N,M) = (2, 0) state, the ring-decelerator is shown
to outperform traditional and alternate-gradient Stark decelerators by at least
an order of magnitude. If further cooled by a stage of laser cooling, the
decelerated molecules allow for a sensitivity gain in a parity violation
measurement, compared to a cryogenic molecular beam experiment, of almost two
orders of magnitude
A linear AC trap for polar molecules in their ground state
Contains fulltext :
98810.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access
Deterministic delivery of externally cold and precisely positioned single molecular ions
We present the preparation and deterministic delivery of a selectable number
of externally cold molecular ions. A laser cooled ensemble of Mg^+ ions
subsequently confined in several linear Paul traps inter-connected via a
quadrupole guide serves as a cold bath for a single or up to a few hundred
molecular ions. Sympathetic cooling embeds the molecular ions in the
crystalline structure. MgH^+ ions, that serve as a model system for a large
variety of other possible molecular ions, are cooled down close to the Doppler
limit and are positioned with an accuracy of one micrometer. After the
production process, severely compromising the vacuum conditions, the molecular
ion is efficiently transfered into nearly background-free environment. The
transfer of a molecular ion between different traps as well as the control of
the molecular ions in the traps is demonstrated. Schemes, optimized for the
transfer of a specific number of ions, are realized and their efficiencies are
evaluated. This versatile source applicable for broad charge-to-mass ratios of
externally cold and precisely positioned molecular ions can serve as a
container-free target preparation device well suited for diffraction or
spectroscopic measurements on individual molecular ions at high repetition
rates (kHz).Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Bose-Einstein condensation with magnetic dipole-dipole forces
Ground-state solutions in a dilute gas interacting via contact and magnetic
dipole-dipole forces are investigated. To the best of our knowledge, it is the
first example of studies of the Bose-Einstein condensation in a system with
realistic long-range interactions. We find that for the magnetic moment of e.g.
chromium and a typical value of the scattering length all solutions are stable
and only differ in size from condensates without long-range interactions. By
lowering the value of the scattering length we find a region of unstable
solutions. In the neighborhood of this region the ground state wavefunctions
show internal structures not seen before in condensates. Finally, we find an
analytic estimate for the characteristic length appearing in these solutions.Comment: final version, 4 pages, 4 figure
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