Buffer-gas cooling, high-resolution spectroscopy and optical cycling of barium monofluoride molecules
Abstract
We demonstrate buffer-gas cooling, high-resolution spectroscopy and cycling fluorescence of cold barium monofluoride (BaF) molecules. Our source produces an intense and internally cold molecular beam containing the different BaF isotopologues with a mean forward velocity of 190 m/s. For a well-collimated beam of 138BaF we observe a flux of more than 1e10 molecules/sr/pulse in the X2Sigma, N=1 state in our downstream detection region. Studying the absorption line strength of the intermediate A'Delta state we infer a lifetime of 790+\-346 ns, significantly longer than previously estimated. Finally, highly-diagonal Franck-Condon factors and magnetic remixing of dark states allow us to realize a quasi-cycling transition in 138BaF that is suitable for future laser cooling of this heavy diatomic molecule.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1906.08798,
title = {Buffer-gas cooling, high-resolution spectroscopy and optical cycling of barium monofluoride molecules},
author = {Ralf Albrecht and Michael Scharwaechter and Tobias Sixt and Lucas Hofer and Tim Langen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1906.08798},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
11 pages, 7 figures