Direct laser cooling of a symmetric top molecule
Debayan Mitra, Nathaniel B. Vilas, Christian Hallas, Loïc Anderegg, Benjamin L. Augenbraun, Louis Baum, Calder Miller, Shivam Raval, John M. Doyle
Abstract
molecules from 22 ± 1 millikelvin to 1.8 ± 0.7 millikelvin in one dimension and state-selectively cooling two nuclear spin isomers. These results demonstrate that the use of proper ro-vibronic transitions enables laser cooling of nonlinear molecules, thereby opening a path to efficient cooling of chiral molecules and, eventually, optical tweezer arrays of complex polyatomic species.
Topics & Concepts
Polyatomic ionLaser coolingMoleculeLaserAtomic physicsQuantumUltracold atomResolved sideband coolingMaterials sciencePhysicsNonlinear systemParticle (ecology)Molecular physicsChemistrySpin (aerodynamics)Chemical polarityQuantum opticsOptical tweezersDimension (graph theory)Atoms in moleculesOptical properties and cooling technologies in crystalline materialsCold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein CondensatesHigh-pressure geophysics and materials