Stark deceleration of CaF molecules in strong- and weak-field seeking states

Authors :: Wall, T. E.
Kanem, J. F.
Dyne, J. M.
Hudson, J. J.
Sauer, B. E.
Hinds, E. A.
Tarbutt, M. R.
Source :: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13, 18991 (2011)
Publication Year :: 2011
Abstract: We report the Stark deceleration of CaF molecules in the strong-field seeking ground state and in a weak-field seeking component of a rotationally-excited state. We use two types of decelerator, a conventional Stark decelerator for the weak-field seekers, and an alternating gradient decelerator for the strong-field seekers, and we compare their relative merits. We also consider the application of laser cooling to increase the phase-space density of decelerated molecules.<br />Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures