2 research outputs found
High density loading and collisional loss of laser cooled molecules in an optical trap
We report optical trapping of laser-cooled molecules at sufficient density to
observe molecule-molecule collisions for the first time in a bulk gas. SrF
molecules from a red-detuned magneto-optical trap (MOT) are compressed and
cooled in a blue-detuned MOT. Roughly 30% of these molecules are loaded into an
optical dipole trap with peak number density and temperature K. We observe two-body loss
with rate coefficient . Achieving this density and temperature opens a path to
evaporative cooling towards quantum degeneracy of laser-cooled molecules.Comment: 6+6 pages, 4+3 figures (main text + supplemental material