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arXiv · 2404.07416

Highly spin-polarized molecules via collisional microwave pumping

Rebekah Hermsmeier·Timur V. Tscherbul
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Abstract

We propose a general technique to produce cold spin-polarized molecules, in which rotationally excited states are first populated by coherent microwave excitation, and then allowed to spin-flip and relax via collisional quenching, which populates a single final spin state. We illustrate the high selectivity of the technique for $^{13}$C$^{16}$O molecules immersed in a cold buffer gas of helium atoms, achieving a high degree ($\geq$95\%) of nuclear spin polarization at 1 K.

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Rebekah Hermsmeier, Timur V. Tscherbul. 2024-04-11. Highly spin-polarized molecules via collisional microwave pumping. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.133.173001

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