Related papers: Low-energy molecular collisions in a permanent mag…
We consider collisions of electric and magnetic polar molecules, taking the OH radical as an example, subject to combined electric and magnetic static fields. We show that the relative orientation of the fields has an important effect on…
We prepare mixtures of ultracold CaF molecules and Rb atoms in a magnetic trap and study their inelastic collisions. When the atoms are prepared in the spin-stretched state and the molecules in the spin-stretched component of the first…
Ultracold collisions of polar OH molecules are considered in the presence of an electrostatic field. The field exerts a strong influence on both elastic and state-changing inelastic collision rate constants, leading to clear experimental…
We study inelastic collisions between CaF molecules and $^{87}$Rb atoms in a dual-species magneto-optical trap. The presence of atoms increases the loss rate of molecules from the trap. By measuring the loss rates and density distributions,…
We have calculated elastic and state-resolved inelastic cross sections for cold and ultracold collisions in the Rb($^1 S$) + OH($^2 \Pi_{3/2}$) system, including fine-structure and hyperfine effects. We have developed a new set of five…
We develop a rigorous quantum mechanical theory for collisions of polyatomic molecular radicals with S-state atoms in the presence of an external magnetic field. The theory is based on a fully uncoupled space-fixed basis set representation…
We consider cold collisions of OH molecules in the $^2\Pi_{3/2}$ grounds state, under the influnce of a magnetic field. We find that modest fields of several thousand gauss can act to suppress inelastic collisions of weak-field seeking…
Cold inelastic collisions between confined cesium (Cs) atoms and Cs$\_2$ molecules are investigated inside a CO$\_2$ laser dipole trap. Inelastic atom-molecule collisions can be observed and measured with a rate coefficient of $\sim 2.5…
We discuss the formation of molecular oxygen in ultracold collisions between hydroxyl radicals and atomic oxygen. A time-independent quantum formalism based on hyperspherical coordinates is employed for the calculations. Elastic, inelastic…
Measurements of interactions between cold molecules and ultracold atoms can allow for a detailed understanding of fundamental collision processes. These measurements can be done using various experimental geometries including where both…
We present quantum-theoretical studies of collisions between an open-shell S-state atom and a ^2Pi-state molecule in the presence of a magnetic field. We analyze the collisional Hamiltonian and discuss possible mechanisms for inelastic…
We report on the Stark deceleration and electrostatic trapping of $^{14}$NH ($a ^1\Delta$) radicals. In the trap, the molecules are excited on the spin-forbidden $A ^3\Pi \leftarrow a ^1\Delta$ transition and detected via their subsequent…
Studies of ion-molecule reactions at low temperatures are difficult because stray electric fields in the reaction volume affect the kinetic energy of charged reaction partners. We describe a new experimental approach to study ion-molecule…
We carry out calculations on $M$-changing collisions of NH ($^3\Sigma^-$) molecules in magnetically trappable states using a recently calculated potential energy surface. We show that elastic collision rates are much faster than inelastic…
A close coupling quantum-mechanical calculation is performed for rotational energy transfer in a HD+HD collision at very low energy, down to the ultracold temperatures: $T \sim 10^{-8}$ K. A global six-dimensional H$_2$-H$_2$ potential…
We present a theoretical study of rotationally elastic and inelastic collisions between molecular nitrogen ions and Rb atoms in the sub-Kelvin temperature regime prevalent in ion-atom hybrid trapping experiments. The cross sections for…
Using the ab initio computed Potential Energy Surface (PES) for the electronic interaction of the MgH$^+$ ($^1\Sigma$) ion with the He($^1$S) atom, we calculate the relevant state-changing rotationally inelastic collision cross sections…
Reaching high densities is a key step towards cold-collision experiments with polyatomic molecules. We use a cryofuge to load up to 2$\times10^7$ CH$_3$F molecules into a box-like electric trap, achieving densities up to 10$^7$/cm$^3$ at…
We report on trapping of fermionic 40K atoms in a red-detuned standing-wave optical trap, loaded from a magneto-optical trap. Typically, 10^6 atoms are loaded at a density of 10^12 cm^-3 and a temperature of 65 microK, and trapped for more…
We demonstrate a 1D magneto-optical trap of the polar free radical calcium monohydroxide (CaOH). A quasi-closed cycling transition is established to scatter $\sim 10^3$ photons per molecule, predominantly limited by interaction time. This…