Related papers: Modeling magneto-optical trapping of CaF molecules
Molecular magneto-optical traps (MOTs) typically capture orders of magnitude fewer particles than their atomic counterparts due in part to their significantly lower capture velocities. Here, we employ a Stochastic Schr\"odinger Equation…
We demonstrate a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) configuration which employs optical forces due to light scattering between electronically excited states of the atom. With the standard MOT laser beams propagating along the {\it x}- and {\it y}-…
Recent experiments have demonstrated direct cooling and trapping of diatomic and triatomic molecules in magneto-optical traps (MOTs). However, even the best molecular MOTs to date still have density $10^{-5}$ times smaller than in typical…
We present the properties of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) of CaF molecules. We study the process of loading the MOT from a decelerated buffer-gas-cooled beam, and how best to slow this molecular beam in order to capture the most molecules.…
Magneto-optical trapping of molecules has thus far been restricted to molecules with $^2\Sigma$ electronic ground states. These species are chemically reactive and only support a simple laser cooling scheme from their first excited…
A magneto-optical trap (MOT) of atoms or molecules is studied when two lasers of different detunings and polarization are used. Especially for $J\rightarrow J,J-1$ transitions, a scheme using more than one frequency per transition and…
Laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping of molecules typically involves multiple transitions driven by several laser frequencies. We analyze how magneto-optical trapping forces depend on the angular momenta, $F_l$ and $F_u$, and the…
We theoretically investigate the damping and trapping forces in a three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), by numerically solving the optical Bloch equations. We focus on the case where there are dark states because the atom is driven…
In red-detuned magneto-optical traps (MOTs) of molecules, sub-Doppler heating competes with Doppler cooling, resulting in high temperature and low density. A solution is offered by the blue-detuned MOT where sub-Doppler cooling dominates…
Laser slowing of CaF molecules down to the capture velocity of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for molecules is achieved. Starting from a two-stage buffer gas beam source, we apply frequency-broadened "white-light" slowing and observe…
Current dual-frequency magneto-optical traps for ultracold molecules are plagued by sub-Doppler heating effects, making them vastly inferior to standard atomic MOTs. Here we demonstrate theoretically that the sub-Doppler effects in such a…
Laser cooling and trapping are central to modern atomic physics. The workhorse technique in cold-atom physics is the magneto-optical trap (MOT), which combines laser cooling with a restoring force from radiation pressure. For a variety of…
Calcium monofluoride (CaF) is magnetically slowed and trapped using optical pumping. Starting from a collisionally cooled slow beam, CaF with an initial velocity of ~ 30 m/s is slowed via magnetic forces as it enters a 800 mK deep magnetic…
We demonstrate significantly improved magneto-optical trapping of molecules using a very slow cryogenic beam source and RF modulated and DC magnetic fields. The RF MOT confines $1.1(3) \times 10^5$ CaF molecules at a density of $4(1) \times…
We present experimental results from a new scheme for magneto-optically trapping strontium monofluoride (SrF) molecules, which provides increased confinement compared to our original work. The improved trap employs a new approach to…
We present a theoretical study of magneto-optical trapping (MOT) force exerted on magnesium monofluoride (MgF) with 3D rate equations, in which we have considered the complex vibrational and rotational levels and the effects of small…
We demonstrate a dual magneto-optical trap of $^{109}$Ag and $^{39}$K. For silver, a decreasing-field Zeeman slower loads a MOT of $1.5{\times}10^8$ atoms at a temperature of 0.74(5) mK, with laser cooling occurring primarily on the $D_2$…
We realize laser cooling and trapping of titanium (Ti) atoms in a mangeto-optical trap (MOT). While Ti does not possess a transition suitable for laser cooling out of its $\mathrm{3d^24s^2}$ $\mathrm{a^3F}$ ground term, there is such a…
We study theoretically the behavior of laser-cooled calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules in an optical molasses and magneto-optical trap (MOT), and compare our results to recent experiments. We use multi-level optical Bloch equations to…
We study the forces and optical pumping within grating magneto-optical traps (MOTs) operating on transitions with non-trivial level structure. In contrast to the standard six-beam MOT configuration, rate equation modelling predicts that the…