Related papers: Collisions between cold molecules in a superconduc…
Collisions with cold particles can dissipate the energy of a hot particle and therefore be exploited as a cooling mechanism. Kinetics teaches us that for a particle to be cooled down by several orders of magnitude, it will typically take…
A mixed system of cooled and trapped, ions and atoms, paves the way for ion assisted cold chemistry and novel many body studies. Due to the different individual trapping mechanisms, trapped atoms are significantly colder than trapped ions,…
Recent experimental developments in the loading of ultracold KRb molecules into quasi-two-dimensional traps, combined with the ability to tune the ratio between elastic and loss (inelastic/reactive) collisions through application of an…
Direct laser cooling of molecules has reached a phase space density exceeding 10$^{-6}$ in optical traps, but with rather small molecular numbers. To progress towards quantum degeneracy, a mechanism is needed that combines sub-Doppler…
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 discuss the influence of collisions on the dynamics of an ultracold gas whose constituents interact via dipolar forces. This dynamics is governed by the elastic scattering cross section of the molecules, which is to some extent under the…
We describe experiments demonstrating efficient transfer of molecules from a magneto-optical trap (MOT) into a conservative magnetic quadrupole trap. Our scheme begins with a blue-detuned optical molasses to cool SrF molecules to $\sim\!50$…
We present a multichannel scattering calculation of elastic and inelastic cold collisions between two low-field seeking, metastable ^{88}Sr [(5s5p) ^3P_2] atoms in the presence of an external magnetic field. The scattering physics is…
Mergoassociation of two ultracold atoms to form a weakly bound molecule can occur when two optical traps that each contain a single atom are merged. Molecule formation occurs at an avoided crossing between a molecular state and the lowest…
We demonstrate coherent microwave control of the rotational, hyperfine and Zeeman states of ultracold CaF molecules, and the magnetic trapping of these molecules in a single, selectable quantum state. We trap about $5\times 10^{3}$…
The ability to cool atoms below the Doppler limit -- the minimum temperature reachable by Doppler cooling -- has been essential to most experiments with quantum degenerate gases, optical lattices and atomic fountains, among many other…
This article reviews the current state of the art in the field of cold and ultracold molecules and demonstrates that chemical reactions, inelastic collisions and dissociation of molecules at subKelvin temperatures can be manipulated with…
Ultracold polar molecules offer the possibility of exploring quantum gases with interparticle interactions that are strong, long-range, and spatially anisotropic. This is in stark contrast to the dilute gases of ultracold atoms, which have…
Isolating neutral and charged particles from the environment is essential in precision experiments. For decades, this has been achieved by trapping ions with radio-frequency (rf) fields and neutral particles with optical fields. Recently,…
Radiative emission during cold collisions between trapped laser-cooled Rb atoms and alkaline-earth ions (Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, Ba$^+$) and Yb$^+$, and between Li and Yb$^+$, are studied theoretically, using accurate effective-core-potential based…
We use quantum scattering methods to calculate the light-induced collisional loss of laser-cooled and trapped magnesium atoms for detunings up to 30 atomic linewidths to the red of the 1S_0-1P_1 cooling transition. Magnesium has no…
Magnetic trapping of bromine atoms at temperatures in the milliKelvin regime is demonstrated for the first time. The atoms are produced by photodissociation of Br$_2$ molecules in a molecular beam. The lab-frame velocity of Br atoms is…
We present a versatile electric trap for the exploration of a wide range of quantum phenomena in the interaction between polar molecules. The trap combines tunable fields, homogeneous over most of the trap volume, with steep gradient fields…
We investigate the properties of two interacting ultracold polar molecules described as distinguishable quantum rigid rotors, trapped in a one-dimensional harmonic potential. The molecules interact via a multichannel two-body contact…
Ultracold collisions of the polyatomic species CaOH are considered, in internal states where the collisions should be dominated by long-range dipole-dipole interactions. The computed rate constants suggest that evaporative cooling can be…