Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2512.08402

A cold beam of BaOH molecules using a water-vapour seeded neon gas

Fikkers, Ties Hendrik, Balasubramanian, Nithesh, van Hofslot, Joost W. F., Mooij, Maarten C., Bethlem, Hendrick L., Hoekstra, Steven

Published Dec 9, 2025• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this paper we report on the production and characterization of a cold beam of BaOH molecules using a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source. BaOH is a highly suitable molecule for studies of the violation of fundamental symmetries, such as the search for the electron's electric dipole moment. BaOH molecules are synthesised inside the cold source through laser ablation of a barium metal target while water vapor is seeded into the neon buffer gas. The BaOH flux is significantly enhanced ($\sim$11 times) when laser-exciting the barium atoms inside the buffer-gas cell on the $^1\mathrm S_0 - ^3\mathrm P_1$ transition. A similar enhancement has been reported for other alkaline-earth(-like) monohydroxides. For typical source conditions, the molecular beam has an average velocity of $\approx180$ m/s and an intensity of $\sim 10^{9}$ molecules s$^{-1}$ in $N=1$, which is comparable to that of cryogenic BaF beams.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2512.08402

Related papers

A cold beam of BaOH molecules using a water-vapor seeded neon gas

Ties H. Fikkers, Nithesh Balasubramanian, Joost W. F. van Hofslot +3 more

Abstract In this paper we report on the production and characterization of a cold beam of BaOH molecules using a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source. BaOH is a highly suitable molecule for studies of the violation of fundamental symmetries, such as the search for the electron’s electric dipole moment. BaOH molecules are synthesized inside the cold source through laser ablation of a barium metal target while water vapor is seeded into the neon buffer gas. The BaOH flux is significantly enhanced (∼11 times) when laser-exciting the barium atoms inside the buffer-gas cell on the 1 S 0 – 3 P 1 transition. A similar enhancement has been reported for other alkaline-earth(-like) monohydroxides. For typical source conditions, the molecular beam has an average velocity of ≈ 180 m s −1 and an intensity of ∼ 10 9 molecules s −1 in N = 1, which is comparable to that of cryogenic BaF beams.

New Journal of Physics•Jan 21, 2026•0 citations

A general cold atomic and molecular beam source

Stephen Maxwell, Nathaniel Brahms, Robert deCarvalho +5 more

We demonstrate and characterize a high-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules. The desired species is vaporized using laser ablation, then cooled by thermalization in a cryogenic cell of buffer gas. The beam is formed by particles exiting a hole in the buffer gas cell. We characterize the properties of the beam (flux, forward velocity, temperature) for both an atom (Na) and a molecule (PbO) under varying buffer gas density, and discuss conditions for optimizing these beam parameters. Our source compares favorably to existing techniques of beam formation, for a variety of applications.

Bulletin of the American Physical Society•May 20, 2005•0 citations

Chemistry in a Cryogenic Buffer Gas Cell

Qi Sun, Jinyu Dai, Rian Koots +4 more

Cryogenic buffer gas sources are ubiquitous for producing cold, collimated molecular beams for quantum science, chemistry, and precision measurements. The molecules are typically produced by laser ablating a metal target in the presence of a donor gas. The radical of interest emerges due to a barrier-free reaction or under thermal or optical excitation. High-barrier reactions, such as between Ca and H 2, should be precluded. We study chemical reactions between Ca and three hydrogen isotopologues (H 2, D 2, and HD) in a cryogenic cell with helium buffer gas. We observe that H 2 can serve as both a reactant and a buffer gas, outperforming D 2 and HD. We use a reaction network model to describe the chemical dynamics and find that the enhanced molecular yield can be attributed to rapid vibrational excitations of the reactant gas. Our results demonstrate a robust method for generating bright cold beams of alkaline-earth-metal hydrides for laser cooling and trapping.

arXiv:2501.05613•The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters•Dec 26, 2025•2 citations

Intense atomic and molecular beams via neon buffer-gas cooling

David Patterson, Julia Rasmussen, John M. Doyle

We realize a continuous, intense, cold molecular and atomic beam source based on buffer-gas cooling. Hot vapor (up to 600 K) from an oven is mixed with cold (15 K) neon buffer gas, and then emitted into a high-flux beam. The novel use of cold neon as a buffer gas produces a forward velocity distribution and low-energy tail that is comparable to much colder helium-based sources. We expect this source to be trivially generalizable to a very wide range of atomic and molecular species with significant vapor pressure below 1000 K. The source has properties that make it a good starting point for laser cooling of molecules or atoms, cold collision studies, trapping, or nonlinear optics in buffer-gas-cooled atomic or molecular gases. A continuous guided beam of cold deuterated ammonia with a flux of 3 × 10 11 ND 3 molecules s −1 and a continuous free-space beam of cold potassium with a flux of 1 × 10 16 K atoms s −1 are realized.

arXiv:0812.2212•New Journal of Physics•May 14, 2009•81 citations

Intense Atomic and Molecular Beams Via Neon Buffer-gas Cooling

David Patterson, Julia Rasmussen, John M. Doyle

We realize a continuous, intense, cold molecular and atomic beam source based on buffer-gas cooling. Hot vapor (up to 600 K) from an oven is mixed with cold (15 K) neon buffer gas, and then emitted into a high-flux beam. The novel use of cold neon as a buffer gas produces a forward velocity distribution and low-energy tail that is comparable to much colder helium-based sources. We expect this source to be trivially generalizable to a very wide range of atomic and molecular species with significant vapor pressure below 1000 K. The source has properties that make it a good starting point for laser cooling of molecules or atoms, cold collision studies, trapping, or nonlinear optics in buffer-gas-cooled atomic or molecular gases. A continuous guided beam of cold deuterated ammonia with a flux of 3×10\\(^{11}\\) ND\\(_{3}\\) molecules s\\(^{−1}\\) and a continuous free-space beam of cold potassium with a flux of 1×10\\(^{16}\\) K atoms s\\(^{−1}\\) are realized.

•Jan 1, 2009•49 citations

Slow molecular beams from a cryogenic buffer gas source

A. D. White, S. Popa, Jorge Mellado Muñoz +4 more

We study the properties of a cryogenic buffer gas source that uses a low-temperature two-stage buffer gas cell to produce very slow beams of ytterbium monofluoride molecules. The molecules are produced by laser ablation inside the cell and extracted into a beam by a flow of cold helium. We measure the flux and velocity distribution of the beam as a function of ablation energy, helium flow rate, cell temperature, and the size of the gap between the first and second stages of the cell. We also compare the velocity distributions from one-stage and two-stage cells. The one-stage cell emits a beam with a speed of about 82 m s − 1 and a translational temperature of 0.63 K. The slowest beams are obtained using the two-stage cell at the lowest achievable cell temperature of 1.8 K. This beam has a peak velocity of 56 m s − 1 and a flux of 9 × 10 9 ground-state molecules per steradian per pulse, with a substantial fraction at speeds below 40 m s − 1 . These slow molecules can be decelerated further by radiation pressure slowing and then captured in a magneto-optical trap. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

arXiv:2408.01862•Physical Review Research•Dec 3, 2024•7 citations
In this paper we report on the production and characterization of a cold beam of BaOH molecules using a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source. BaOH is a highly suitable molecule for studies of the violation of fundamental symmetries, such as the search for the electron's electric dipole moment. BaOH molecules are synthesised inside the cold source through laser ablation of a barium metal target while water vapor is seeded into the neon buffer gas. The BaOH flux is significantly enhanced (∼\sim∼11 times) when laser-exciting the barium atoms inside the buffer-gas cell on the 1S0−3P1^1\mathrm S_0 - ^3\mathrm P_11S0​−3P1​ transition. A similar enhancement has been reported for other alkaline-earth(-like) monohydroxides. For typical source conditions, the molecular beam has an average velocity of ≈180\approx180≈180 m/s and an intensity of ∼109\sim 10^{9}∼109 molecules s−1^{-1}−1 in N=1N=1N=1, which is comparable to that of cryogenic BaF beams.
Abstract In this paper we report on the production and characterization of a cold beam of BaOH molecules using a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source. BaOH is a highly suitable molecule for studies of the violation of fundamental symmetries, such as the search for the electron’s electric dipole moment. BaOH molecules are synthesized inside the cold source through laser ablation of a barium metal target while water vapor is seeded into the neon buffer gas. The BaOH flux is significantly enhanced (∼11 times) when laser-exciting the barium atoms inside the buffer-gas cell on the 1 S 0 – 3 P 1 transition. A similar enhancement has been reported for other alkaline-earth(-like) monohydroxides. For typical source conditions, the molecular beam has an average velocity of ≈ 180 m s −1 and an intensity of ∼ 10 9 molecules s −1 in N = 1, which is comparable to that of cryogenic BaF beams.
We demonstrate and characterize a high-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules. The desired species is vaporized using laser ablation, then cooled by thermalization in a cryogenic cell of buffer gas. The beam is formed by particles exiting a hole in the buffer gas cell. We characterize the properties of the beam (flux, forward velocity, temperature) for both an atom (Na) and a molecule (PbO) under varying buffer gas density, and discuss conditions for optimizing these beam parameters. Our source compares favorably to existing techniques of beam formation, for a variety of applications.
Cryogenic buffer gas sources are ubiquitous for producing cold, collimated molecular beams for quantum science, chemistry, and precision measurements. The molecules are typically produced by laser ablating a metal target in the presence of a donor gas. The radical of interest emerges due to a barrier-free reaction or under thermal or optical excitation. High-barrier reactions, such as between Ca and H 2, should be precluded. We study chemical reactions between Ca and three hydrogen isotopologues (H 2, D 2, and HD) in a cryogenic cell with helium buffer gas. We observe that H 2 can serve as both a reactant and a buffer gas, outperforming D 2 and HD. We use a reaction network model to describe the chemical dynamics and find that the enhanced molecular yield can be attributed to rapid vibrational excitations of the reactant gas. Our results demonstrate a robust method for generating bright cold beams of alkaline-earth-metal hydrides for laser cooling and trapping.
We realize a continuous, intense, cold molecular and atomic beam source based on buffer-gas cooling. Hot vapor (up to 600 K) from an oven is mixed with cold (15 K) neon buffer gas, and then emitted into a high-flux beam. The novel use of cold neon as a buffer gas produces a forward velocity distribution and low-energy tail that is comparable to much colder helium-based sources. We expect this source to be trivially generalizable to a very wide range of atomic and molecular species with significant vapor pressure below 1000 K. The source has properties that make it a good starting point for laser cooling of molecules or atoms, cold collision studies, trapping, or nonlinear optics in buffer-gas-cooled atomic or molecular gases. A continuous guided beam of cold deuterated ammonia with a flux of 3 × 10 11 ND 3 molecules s −1 and a continuous free-space beam of cold potassium with a flux of 1 × 10 16 K atoms s −1 are realized.
We realize a continuous, intense, cold molecular and atomic beam source based on buffer-gas cooling. Hot vapor (up to 600 K) from an oven is mixed with cold (15 K) neon buffer gas, and then emitted into a high-flux beam. The novel use of cold neon as a buffer gas produces a forward velocity distribution and low-energy tail that is comparable to much colder helium-based sources. We expect this source to be trivially generalizable to a very wide range of atomic and molecular species with significant vapor pressure below 1000 K. The source has properties that make it a good starting point for laser cooling of molecules or atoms, cold collision studies, trapping, or nonlinear optics in buffer-gas-cooled atomic or molecular gases. A continuous guided beam of cold deuterated ammonia with a flux of 3×10\\(^{11}\\) ND\\(_{3}\\) molecules s\\(^{−1}\\) and a continuous free-space beam of cold potassium with a flux of 1×10\\(^{16}\\) K atoms s\\(^{−1}\\) are realized.
We study the properties of a cryogenic buffer gas source that uses a low-temperature two-stage buffer gas cell to produce very slow beams of ytterbium monofluoride molecules. The molecules are produced by laser ablation inside the cell and extracted into a beam by a flow of cold helium. We measure the flux and velocity distribution of the beam as a function of ablation energy, helium flow rate, cell temperature, and the size of the gap between the first and second stages of the cell. We also compare the velocity distributions from one-stage and two-stage cells. The one-stage cell emits a beam with a speed of about 82 m s − 1 and a translational temperature of 0.63 K. The slowest beams are obtained using the two-stage cell at the lowest achievable cell temperature of 1.8 K. This beam has a peak velocity of 56 m s − 1 and a flux of 9 × 10 9 ground-state molecules per steradian per pulse, with a substantial fraction at speeds below 40 m s − 1 . These slow molecules can be decelerated further by radiation pressure slowing and then captured in a magneto-optical trap. Published by the American Physical Society 2024