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arXiv · 2204.12339

Electric-field-controlled cold dipolar collisions between trapped CH$_3$F molecules

M. Koller·F. Jung·J. Phrompao·M. Zeppenfeld·I. M. Rabey·G. Rempe
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Abstract

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 temperatures around 350 mK where the elastic dipolar cross-section exceeds 7$\times$10$^{-12}$cm$^2$. We measure inelastic rate constants below 4$\times$10$^{-8}$cm$^3$/s and control these by tuning a homogeneous electric field that covers a large fraction of the trap volume. Comparison to ab-initio calculations gives excellent agreement with dipolar relaxation. Our techniques and findings are generic and immediately relevant for other cold-molecule collision experiments.

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M. Koller, F. Jung, J. Phrompao, M. Zeppenfeld, I. M. Rabey, G. Rempe. 2022-04-26. Electric-field-controlled cold dipolar collisions between trapped CH$_3$F molecules. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.203401

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