212 research outputs found
Franck-Condon Factors and Radiative Lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} Transition of Ytterbium Monoflouride, YbF
The fluorescence spectrum resulting from laser excitation of the
A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} (0,0) band of ytterbium monofluoride, YbF, has
been recorded and analyzed to determine the Franck-Condon factors. The measured
values are compared with those predicted from Rydberg-Klein-Rees (RKR)
potential energy curves. From the fluorescence decay curve the radiative
lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} state is measured to be 28\pm2 ns, and the
corresponding transition dipole moment is 4.39\pm0.16 D. The implications for
laser cooling YbF are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Characterization of a cryogenic beam source for atoms and molecules
We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of beam formation
from a cryogenic buffer gas cell. Atoms and molecules are loaded into the cell
by laser ablation of a target, and are cooled and swept out of the cell by a
flow of cold helium. We study the thermalization and flow dynamics inside the
cell and measure how the speed, temperature, divergence and extraction
efficiency of the beam are influenced by the helium flow. We use a finite
element model to simulate the flow dynamics and use the predictions of this
model to interpret our experimental results.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure
Doppler-free laser spectroscopy of buffer gas cooled molecular radicals
We demonstrate Doppler-free saturated absorption spectroscopy of cold
molecular radicals formed by laser ablation inside a cryogenic buffer gas cell.
By lowering the temperature, congested regions of the spectrum can be
simplified, and by using different temperatures for different regions of the
spectrum a wide range of rotational states can be studied optimally. We use the
technique to study the optical spectrum of YbF radicals with a resolution of 30
MHz, measuring the magnetic hyperfine parameters of the electronic ground
state. The method is suitable for high resolution spectroscopy of a great
variety of molecules at controlled temperature and pressure, and is
particularly well-suited to those that are difficult to produce in the gas
phase.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
A buffer gas beam source for short, intense and slow molecular pulses
Experiments with cold molecules usually begin with a molecular source. We describe the construction and characteristics of a cryogenic buff er gas source of CaF molecules. The source emits pulses with a typical duration of 240 μs, a mean speed of about 150 m/s, and a flux of 5x 10¹⁰ molecules per steradian per pulse in a single rotational state
Diffusion, thermalization and optical pumping of YbF molecules in a cold buffer gas cell
We produce YbF molecules with a density of 10^18 m^-3 using laser ablation
inside a cryogenically-cooled cell filled with a helium buffer gas. Using
absorption imaging and absorption spectroscopy we study the formation,
diffusion, thermalization and optical pumping of the molecules. The absorption
images show an initial rapid expansion of molecules away from the ablation
target followed by a much slower diffusion to the cell walls. We study how the
time constant for diffusion depends on the helium density and temperature, and
obtain values for the YbF-He diffusion cross-section at two different
temperatures. We measure the translational and rotational temperatures of the
molecules as a function of time since formation, obtain the characteristic time
constant for the molecules to thermalize with the cell walls, and elucidate the
process responsible for limiting this thermalization rate. Finally, we make a
detailed study of how the absorption of the probe laser saturates as its
intensity increases, showing that the saturation intensity is proportional to
the helium density. We use this to estimate collision rates and the density of
molecules in the cell.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, minor revisions following referee suggestion
Risk Factors for Pediatric Invasive Group A Streptococcal Disease
Invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections can be fatal and can occur in healthy children. A case-control study identified factors associated with pediatric disease. Case-patients were identified when Streptococcus pyogenes was isolated from a normally sterile site, and matched controls (≥2) were identified by using sequential-digit dialing. All participants were noninstitutionalized surveillance-area residents <18 years of age. Conditional regression identified factors associated with invasive disease: other children living in the home (odds ratio [OR] = 16.85, p = 0.0002) and new use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (OR = 10.64, p = 0.005) were associated with increased risk. More rooms in the home (OR = 0.67, p = 0.03) and household member(s) with runny nose (OR = 0.09, p = 0.002) were associated with decreased risk. Among children, household-level characteristics that influence exposure to GAS most affect development of invasive disease
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 Bright, Slow Cryogenic Molecular Beam Source for Free Radicals
We demonstrate and characterize a cryogenic buffer gas-cooled molecular beam
source capable of producing bright beams of free radicals and refractory
species. Details of the beam properties (brightness, forward velocity
distribution, transverse velocity spread, rotational and vibrational
temperatures) are measured under varying conditions for the molecular species
SrF. Under typical conditions we produce a beam of brightness 1.2 x 10^11
molecules/sr/pulse in the rovibrational ground state, with 140 m/s forward
velocity and a rotational temperature of approximately 1 K. This source
compares favorably to other methods for producing beams of free radicals and
refractory species for many types of experiments. We provide details of
construction that may be helpful for others attempting to use this method.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure
Characterization of invasive and colonizing isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae in East African adults
Ninety-five colonizing isolates and 74 invasive isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae from Kenyan adults were characterized by using capsular serotyping and multilocus sequence typing. Twenty-two sequence types clustering into five clonal complexes were found. Data support the view that S. agalactiae isolates belonging to a limited number of clonal complexes are invasive in adults worldwide
- …