Cold molecules

Background

If one could achieve trapping molecules in the gas phase at ultra-cold temperatures below 1 mK, it would be possible to control the number of molecules coherently, which would lead to a new methodology to manipulate molecules through quantum mechanics, in addition, to explore properties of very cold molecules. In this project, we are developing new techniques of making free cold molecules below 1 mK by combining techniques of Stark and Zeeman decelerators, mechanical cooling, velocity filters and optical cooling. Once cooling is achieved, the cold molecular ensembles will be used to investigate new phenomena such as anomalous reaction cross sections at low temperatures, which offer a completely new field of research in physical chemistry.

  • Current status

    • A 3.6 metre long travelling wave zeeman decelerator has been constructed.
    • Working on trapping of NH3 molecules using Microwaves inside the Fabry Perot cavity.
    • Study of collisions between the trapped methyl radicals and rare-gas atoms.

  • Future goal

    • Molecular BEC.
    • Precision spectroscopy at ultra-cold temperature.
    • Chiral molecules trapping.

 

 

 

  • Recent publications

    •  “A superconducting Fabry-Perot cavity for trapping cold molecules”
      Fatemeh S. Tahsildaran F., Manish Vashishta, Amir Hossein Farahbod, Rasoul Malekfar, Pavle Djuricanin, Katsunari Enomoto, and Takamasa Momose,  J. Phys. B, Atom. Mol. Opt. Phys.  in press.
    • Focusing of a cold PbO molecular beam with a superconducting microwave resonator”
      Katsunari Enomoto, Nagisa Hizawa, Yuji Furuta, Naoyuki Hada, and Takamasa Momose, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 52 035101 (2019) 7 pages
    •  “Penning collisions between supersonically expanded metastable helium atoms and laser-cooled lithium atoms”
      Jonas Grzesiak, Takamasa Momose, Frank Stienkemeier, Marcel Mudrich, and
      Katrin Dulitz, J. Chem. Phys. 150, 034201 (2019)  9 pages
    •  “Production of rotationally cold methyl radicals in pulsed supersonic beams”
      J. Grzesiak, F. Stienkemeier, K. Dulitz, M. Vashishta, P. Djuricanin, T. Momose, and M. Mudrich , Rev. Sci. Inst.  89 (11), 113103 (2018)  6 pages
    • “Magnetic Trapping of Cold Methyl Radicals ”
      Y. Liu, M. Vashishta, P. Djuricanin, S. Zhou, W. Zhong, T. Mittertreiner, D. Carty, and T. Momose, Phys. Rev. Lett, 118, 093201 (2017)  5 pages
    • “State Purified Deceleration of SD Radicals by a Stark Decelerator”
      Omid Nourbakhsh, J. Mario Michan, Tony Mittertreiner, David Carty, Eckart Wrede, Pavle Djuricanin, and Takamasa Momose
      Mol. Phys.,  113  (24) 4007 – 4018 (2015)
    •  “Trapping of Magnetically Decelerated Supersonic Beams of O2 Molecules”
      Yang Liu, Sida Zhou, Wei Zhong, Pavle Djuricanin, and Takamasa Momose
      Phys. Rev. A. 91, 021403(R)  (2015)