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arXiv · 2112.10745

Laser Cooling Scheme for the Carbon Dimer ($^{12}$C$_2$)

Niccolò Bigagli·Daniel W. Savin·Sebastian Will
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Abstract

We report on a scheme for laser cooling of $^{12}$C$_2$. We have calculated the branching ratios for cycling and repumping transitions and calculated the number of photon scatterings required to achieve deflection and laser cooling of a beam of $C_2$ molecules under realistic experimental conditions. Our results demonstrate that C$_2$ cooling using the Swan ($d^3\Pi_\text{g} \leftrightarrow a^3\Pi_\text{u}$) and Duck ($d^3\Pi_\text{g} \leftrightarrow c^3\Sigma_\text{u}^+$) bands is achievable via techniques similar to state-of-the-art molecular cooling experiments. The Phillips ($A^1\Pi_\text{u} \leftrightarrow X^1\Sigma_\text{g}^+$) and Ballik-Ramsay ($b^3\Sigma_\text{g}^- \leftrightarrow a^3\Pi_\text{u}$) bands offer the potential for narrow-line cooling. This work opens up a path to cooling of molecules with carbon-carbon bonds and may pave the way toward quantum control of organic molecules.

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Niccolò Bigagli, Daniel W. Savin, Sebastian Will. 2021-12-20. Laser Cooling Scheme for the Carbon Dimer ($^{12}$C$_2$). https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.105.l051301

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