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arXiv · 1402.2800

Traveling-wave deceleration of SrF molecules

J. E. van den Berg·S. C. Mathavan·C. Meinema·J. Nauta·T. H. Nijbroek·K. Jungmann·H. L. Bethlem·S. Hoekstra
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Abstract

We report on the production, deceleration and detection of a SrF molecular beam. The molecules are captured from a supersonic expansion and are decelerated in the X$^2\Sigma^+ (v=0, N=1)$ state. We demonstrate the removal of up to 40% of the kinetic energy with a 2 meter long modular traveling-wave decelerator. Our results demonstrate a crucial step towards the preparation of ultracold gases of heavy diatomic molecules for precision spectroscopy.

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J. E. van den Berg, S. C. Mathavan, C. Meinema, J. Nauta, T. H. Nijbroek, K. Jungmann, H. L. Bethlem, S. Hoekstra. 2014-02-12. Traveling-wave deceleration of SrF molecules. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jms.2014.02.004

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