Long rotational coherence times of molecules in a magnetic trap
Atomic Physics
2020-02-17 v2
Abstract
Polar molecules in superpositions of rotational states exhibit long-range dipolar interactions, but maintaining their coherence in a trapped sample is a challenge. We present calculations that show many laser-coolable molecules have convenient rotational transitions that are exceptionally insensitive to magnetic fields. We verify this experimentally for CaF where we find a transition with sensitivity below 5 Hz G and use it to demonstrate a rotational coherence time of 6.4(8) ms in a magnetic trap. Simulations suggest it is feasible to extend this to more than 1 s using a smaller cloud in a biased magnetic trap.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1908.11839,
title = {Long rotational coherence times of molecules in a magnetic trap},
author = {L. Caldwell and H. J. Williams and N. J. Fitch and J. Aldegunde and Jeremy M. Hutson and B. E. Sauer and M. R. Tarbutt},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.11839},
year = {2020}
}