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arXiv:0806.2245 · Physical Review A

Loss of molecules in magneto-electrostatic traps due to nonadiabatic transitions

Manuel Lara, Benjamin Lev, John L. Bohn

Published Sep 30, 2008• 23 citations
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Abstract

We analyze the dynamics of a paramagnetic, dipolar molecule in a generic ``magneto-electrostatic'' trap where both magnetic and electric fields may be present. The potential energy that governs the dynamics of the molecules is found using a reduced molecular model that incorporates the main features of the system. We discuss the shape of the trapping potentials for different field geometries, as well as the possibility of nonadiabatic transitions to untrapped states, i.e., the analog of Majorana transitions in a quadrupole magnetic atomic trap. Maximizing the lifetime of molecules in a trap is of great concern in current experiments, and we assess the effect of nonadiabatic transitions on obtainable trap lifetimes.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.78.033433

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We analyze the dynamics of a paramagnetic, dipolar molecule in a generic ``magneto-electrostatic'' trap where both magnetic and electric fields may be present. The potential energy that governs the dynamics of the molecules is found using a reduced molecular model that incorporates the main features of the system. We discuss the shape of the trapping potentials for different field geometries, as well as the possibility of nonadiabatic transitions to untrapped states, i.e., the analog of Majorana transitions in a quadrupole magnetic atomic trap. Maximizing the lifetime of molecules in a trap is of great concern in current experiments, and we assess the effect of nonadiabatic transitions on obtainable trap lifetimes.
Nonadiabatic transitions are known to be major loss channels for atoms in magnetic traps but have thus far not been experimentally reported upon for trapped molecules. We have observed and quantified losses due to nonadiabatic transitions for three isotopologues of ammonia in electrostatic traps by comparing the trapping times in traps with a zero and a nonzero electric field at the center. Nonadiabatic transitions are seen to dominate the overall loss rate even for the present samples that are at relatively high temperatures of 30 mK. It is anticipated that losses due to nonadiabatic transitions in electric fields are omnipresent in ongoing experiments on cold molecules.
In AMO (Atomic, Molecular, and Optical) physics, an important part of making precise measurements is obtaining and keeping high phase-space densities of the atoms or molecules being trapped. When working with atoms, nonadiabatic transitions from trapped states to non-trapped states are a key component of trap loss. The theoretical consensus has been that electrostatically trapped molecules, unlike atoms have very low loss rates due to nonadiabatic transitions. However, [1] performed the first experimental study of loss due to nonadiabatic transitions in electrostatically trapped ammonia and claim that they cause significant trap loss. This thesis presents my work on developing a computer simulation to model ammonia in an electrostatic trap and a simple model of trap loss due to nonadiabatic transitions. This thesis will provide background information on the slowing and trapping of molecules and the nonadiabatic transition that causes trap loss.
We theoretically investigate the dynamics of linear polar molecules in static quadrupole electric fields. Numerical calculation shows that molecules rotating in a specific direction experience a restoring force, being three-dimensionally trapped in the center of the field distribution. We formulate the probability of Majorana transition and the trapping lifetime with a simple model of a rotating dipole. Potential depth of the electrostatic trap is quantum-mechanically estimated to be in the order of 100 mK.
We propose a method for laser cooling and trapping a substantial class of polar molecules and, in particular, titanium (II) oxide (TiO). This method uses pulsed electric fields to nonadiabatically remix the ground-state magnetic sublevels of the molecule, allowing one to build a magneto-optical trap based on a quasicycling J' = J'' -1 transition. Monte Carlo simulations of this electrostatically remixed magneto-optical trap demonstrate the feasibility of cooling TiO to a temperature of 10 micrpK and trapping it with a radiation-pumping-limited lifetime on the order of 80 ms.
Polar molecules in selected quantum states can be guided, decelerated, and trapped using electric fields created by microstructured electrodes on a chip. Here we explore how nonadiabatic transitions between levels in which the molecules are trapped and levels in which the molecules are not trapped can be suppressed. We use 12C^{12}\mathrm{C}12CO and 13C^{13}\mathrm{C}13CO ($a {}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{1},v=0$) molecules, prepared in the upper $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-doublet component of the J=1J=1J=1 rotational level, and study the trap loss as a function of an offset magnetic field. The experimentally observed suppression (enhancement) of the nonadiabatic transitions for 12C^{12}\mathrm{C}12CO (13C^{13}\mathrm{C}13CO) with increasing magnetic field is quantitatively explained.
Doubly dipolar molecules exhibit complex internal spin dynamics when electric and magnetic fields are both applied. Near magnetic trap minima, these spin dynamics lead to enhancements in Majorana spin-flip transitions by many orders of magnitude relative to atoms and are thus an important obstacle for progress in molecule trapping and cooling. We conclusively demonstrate and address this with OH molecules in a trap geometry where spin-flip losses can be tuned from over 200 ${\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ to below our 2 ${\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ vacuum-limited loss rate with only a simple external bias coil and with minimal impact on trap depth and gradient.