Related papers: Atom-molecule collisions in an optically trapped g…
We observed elastic collisions between laser-cooled fermionic lithium atoms and calcium ions at the energy range from 100 mK to 3 K. Lithium atoms in an optical-dipole trap were transported to the center of the ion trap using an optical…
We propose a novel method to measure the interaction between an ultracold gas of neutral atoms and a surface. This solution combines an optical dipole trap reflected by the surface, a magnetic trap formed by current carrying wires embedded…
We calculate the cross sections for elastic scattering and Zeeman relaxation in binary collisions of molecules in the ro-vibrational ground state of a $^2\Sigma$ electronic state and the Zeeman state with the electron spin projection…
We report the first detailed decay studies of trapped metastable (2S) hydrogen. By two-photon excitation of ultracold H samples, we have produced clouds of at least 5x10^7 magnetically trapped 2S atoms at densities greater than 4x10^10…
We present the first simultaneous trapping of two different ultracold atomic species in a conservative trap. Lithium and cesium atoms are stored in an optical dipole trap formed by the focus of a CO$_2$ laser. Techniques for loading both…
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…
Collision cross sections and rate constants between two ground- state oxygen molecules are investigated theoretically at translational energies below $\sim 1$K and in zero magnetic field. We present calculations for elastic and spin-…
We demonstrate simultaneous deceleration and trapping of a cold atomic and molecular mixture. This is the first step towards studies of cold atom-molecule collisions at low temperatures as well as application of sympathetic cooling. Both…
It has recently become possible to form molecules in ultracold gases of trapped alkali metal atoms. Once formed, the molecules may undergo elastic, inelastic and reactive collisions. Inelastic and reactive collisions are particularly…
We report optical trapping of laser-cooled molecules at sufficient density to observe molecule-molecule collisions for the first time in a bulk gas. SrF molecules from a red-detuned magneto-optical trap (MOT) are compressed and cooled in a…
We present measurements of the loss-rate coefficients K_am and K_mm caused by inelastic atom-molecule and molecule-molecule collisions. A thermal cloud of atomic 87Rb is prepared in an optical dipole trap. A magnetic field is ramped across…
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…
Exploring inelastic and reactive collisions on the quantum level is a main goal of the developing field of ultracold chemistry. We present first experimental studies of inelastic collisions of metastable ultracold triplet molecules in the…
We study light-assisted collisions in an ensemble containing a small number (~3) of cold Rb87 atoms trapped in a microscopic dipole trap. Using our ability to operate with one atom exactly in the trap, we measure the one-body heating rate…
We report measurement of inelastic loss in dense and cold metastable ytterbium (Yb[$^3P_2$]). Use of an optical far-off-resonance trap enables us to trap atoms in all magnetic sublevels, removing multichannel collisional trap loss from the…
We present an experimental and theoretical study of atom-molecule collisions in a mixture of cold, trapped atomic nitrogen and NH molecules at a temperature of $\sim 600$~mK. We measure a small N+NH trap loss rate coefficient of…
We measure inelastic collisions between ultracold CaF molecules by combining two optical tweezers, each containing a single molecule. We observe collisions between $^2\Sigma$ CaF molecules in the absolute ground state $|X,v=0,…
We simultaneously trap ultracold lithium and cesium atoms in an optical dipole trap formed by the focus of a CO$_2$ laser and study the exchange of thermal energy between the gases. The cesium gas, which is optically cooled to $20 \mu$K,…
Understanding collisions between ultracold molecules is crucial for making stable molecular quantum gases and harnessing their rich internal degrees of freedom for quantum engineering. Transient complexes can strongly influence collisional…
Ultracold temperatures in dilute quantum gases opened the way to an exquisite control of matter at the quantum level. Here we focus on the control of ultracold atomic collisions using a laser to engineer their interactions at large…