We experimentally test our homemade electrostatic Stark decelerator with 99 slowing stages with a supersonic ND 3 molecular beam. Relationships between the performance of the decelerator and various parameters, including the kinetic energy loss per stage versus the synchronous phase angle ϕ 0 , the final central velocity of a slowed molecular packet versus both the phase angle ϕ 0 and the decelerating stage number and the relative slowing efficiency versus the phase angle ϕ 0 , are studied both theoretically and experimentally. With our homemade Stark decelerator, a supersonic ND 3 beam is successfully decelerated from 330 to 24 m s −1 , producing a molecular packet with a translational temperature of ∼36 mK. Experimental results are in good agreement with their simulated and theoretically calculated counterparts. In addition, we propose and study a new mode to operate a Stark decelerator that allows one to prepare a slow, number-density-enhanced, high-energy-resolution molecular beam, which is essentially a complementary mode to the scheme proposed by Parazzoli et al (2009 New J. Phys. 11 055031) in a low velocity regime and promises important applications in the research of cold collisions and cold chemistry.
We experimentally test our homemade electrostatic Stark decelerator with 99 slowing stages with a supersonic ND 3 molecular beam. Relationships between the performance of the decelerator and various parameters, including the kinetic energy loss per stage versus the synchronous phase angle ϕ 0 , the final central velocity of a slowed molecular packet versus both the phase angle ϕ 0 and the decelerating stage number and the relative slowing efficiency versus the phase angle ϕ 0 , are studied both theoretically and experimentally. With our homemade Stark decelerator, a supersonic ND 3 beam is successfully decelerated from 330 to 24 m s −1 , producing a molecular packet with a translational temperature of ∼36 mK. Experimental results are in good agreement with their simulated and theoretically calculated counterparts. In addition, we propose and study a new mode to operate a Stark decelerator that allows one to prepare a slow, number-density-enhanced, high-energy-resolution molecular beam, which is essentially a complementary mode to the scheme proposed by Parazzoli et al (2009 New J. Phys. 11 055031) in a low velocity regime and promises important applications in the research of cold collisions and cold chemistry.
In this paper, we investigate theoretically the Stark deceleration and cooling of subsonic NH3 molecular beams based on our second-generation electrostatic Stark decelerator with 180 stages. Firstly, we calculate the Stark shifts of NH3 molecules in the |J=1, K=1 ightangle states and show the stable area of longitudinal phase space for different synchronous phase angles. Secondly, we study the slowing performance of NH3 molecular beams in the traditional mode, and discuss the relationships between various parameters (such as the kinetic energy loss per stage, final velocity and the slowing efficiency) and the synchronous phase angle 0, as well as the dependence of final velocity on the applied voltages. It is found that a subsonic NH3 molecular beam can be decelerated from 280 to 6.7 m/s at 0=26.08 when the high voltages applied on the electrodes are 13 kV, corresponding to a removal of 99.9% kinetic energy. The translational temperature of the molecular packets in the moving frame is significantly reduced from 1.34 K to 80 mK. Finally, we study the slowing performance of NH3 molecules and the dependence of final velocity on the synchronous phase angle in an alternate operation mode. In this mode, a synchronous phase angle 0=0 is chosen to bunch the molecules by using the first 15 stages. The remaining 165 stages are then used to slow a subsonic molecular beam at a certain synchronous phase angle. Our result shows that a molecular beam with a mean velocity of 280 m/s can be decelerated to 20.7 m/s at 0=65.4 when the voltages applied are 6.5 kV, indicating a 99.4% kinetic energy removal, and the translational temperature of the molecular packets can be reduced from 1.34 K to 1.6 mK. By comparing the results obtained from the two operational modes, the temperature of the slowed molecular packet in the alternate mode is 50 times lower than that in the traditional mode. It is shown that our second-generation 180-stage Stark decelerator can effectively produce slow and cold molecules with relatively small electric dipole moment like NH3. These monochromatic NH3 molecular beams offer a promising starting point for high resolution spectroscopy, precision measurement, cold collisions and cold chemistry. This theoretical work provides a reliable basis in our further experimental research.
Abstract We demonstrate the production of cold, slow NH3 molecules from a supersonic NH3 molecular beam using our electrostatic Stark decelerator consisting of 179 slowing stages. By using this long Stark decelerator, a supersonic NH3 molecular beam can be easily decelerated to trappable velocities. Here we present two modes for operating the Stark decelerator to slow the supersonic NH3 molecules. The first is the normal mode, where all 179 stages are used to decelerate molecules, and it allows decelerating the NH3 molecular beam from 333 m/s to 18 m/s, with a final temperature of 29.2 mK. The second is the deceleration-bunch mode, which allows us to decelerate the supersonic NH3 beam from 333 m/s to 24 m/s, with a final temperature of 2.9 mK. It is clear that the second mode promises to produce colder (high-energy-resolution) molecular samples than the normal mode. Three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations are also performed for the experiments and they show a good agreement with the observed results. The deceleration-bunch operation mode presented here can find applications in the fields of cold collisions, high-resolution spectroscopy, and precision measurements.
To meet some demands for realizing precise measurements of an electric dipole moment of electron (eEDM) and examining cold collisions or cold chemical physics, we have proposed a novel, versatile electrostatic Stark decelerator with an array of true 3D electric potential wells, which are created by a series of horizontally-oriented, U-shaped electrodes with time-sequence controlling high voltages (± HV) and two guiding electrodes with a constant voltage. We have calculated the 2D electric field distribution, the Stark shifts of the four lowest rotational sub-levels of PbF molecules in the X1(2)Π1/2(v = 0) electronic and vibrational ground states as well as the population in the different rotational levels. We have discussed the 2D longitudinal and transverse phase-space acceptances of PbF molecules in our decelerator. Subsequently, we have simulated the dynamic processes of the decelerated PbF molecules using the 3D Monte-Carlo method, and have found that a supersonic PbF beam with a velocity of 300 m s(-1) can be efficiently slowed to about 5 m s(-1), which will greatly enhance the sensitivities to research a parity violation and measure an eEDM. In addition, we have investigated the dependences of the longitudinal velocity spread, longitudinal temperature and bunching efficiency on both the number of guiding stages and high voltages, and found that after bunching, a cold packet of PbF molecules in the J = 7/2, MΩ = -7/4 state with a longitudinal velocity spread of 0.69 m s(-1) (corresponding to a longitudinal temperature of 2.35 mK) will be produced by our high-efficient decelerator, which will generate a high energy-resolution molecular beam for studying cold collision physics. Finally, our novel decelerator can also be used to efficiently slow NO molecules with a tiny electric dipole moment (EDM) of 0.16 D from 315 m s(-1) to 28 m s(-1). It is clear that our proposed new decelerator has a good slowing performance and experimental feasibility as well as wide applications in the field of precise measurements and cold molecule physics.
We have calculated the Stark effect of CH3F molecules in external electrical fields, the rotational population of supersonic CH3F molecules in different quantum states, and analyse the motion of weak-field-seeking CH3F molecules in a state | J = 1, KM = −1〉 inside the electrical field of a Stark decelerator by using a simple analytical model. Three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation is performed to simulate the dynamical slowing process of molecules through the decelerator, and the results are compared with those obtained from the analytical model, including the phase stability, slowing efficiency as well as the translational temperature of the slowed molecular packet. Our study shows that with a modest dipole moment (~1.85 Debye) and a relatively slight molecular weight (~34.03), CH3F molecules in a state |J = 1, KM = −1〉 are a good candidate for slowing with electrostatic field. With high voltages of ±10 kV applied on the decelerator, molecules of 370 m/s can be brought to a standstill within 200 slowing stages.
Stark deceleration allows for precise control over the velocity of a pulsed molecular beam and, by the nature of its limited phase-space acceptance, reduces the energy width of the decelerated packet. We describe an alternate method of operating a Stark decelerator that further reduces the energy spread over the standard method of operation. In this alternate mode of operation, we aggressively decelerate the molecular packet using a high phase angle. This technique brings the molecular packet to the desired velocity before it reaches the end of the decelerator; the remaining stages are then used to longitudinally and transversely guide the packet to the detection/interaction region. The result of the initial aggressive slowing is a reduction in the phase-space acceptance of the decelerator and thus a narrowing of the velocity spread of the molecular packet. In addition to the narrower energy spread, this method also results in a velocity spread that is nearly independent of the final velocity. Using the alternate deceleration technique, the energy resolution of molecular collision measurements can be improved considerably.
Improving the number and number density of cold molecules is a longstanding goal in cold molecule research. Stark deceleration provides an important access to taming polar molecules and makes the collision and high-resolution spectroscopy a reality. However, the full deceleration efficiency of the traditional Stark decelerator has been impeded by its intrinsic loss mechanisms, which significantly limit its applications. In this paper, we introduce an interspersed guiding deceleration strategy that surpasses the periodic phase stability limitations of traditional Stark decelerator. Our approach is theoretically and experimentally validated using the ND3 molecule, achieving significant gains of $3\ensuremath{\sim}8$ for all final velocity ranges. Additionally, our method requires a lower operation number of switching that is beneficial for reducing the consumption of the high-voltage switches and suitable for controlling a large number of deceleration stages. This method is applicable to any traditional crossed-pin Stark decelerator and can stop a wider variety of molecular species with higher densities, including those with a small Stark shift-to-mass ratio. It is anticipated to become an essential tool for producing cold and dense molecular samples, offering promising prospects for cold collision studies and precision measurements.