Molecular optics: Guiding cold molecules

Mariangela Gussoni, Chiara Castiglioni, M. Del Zoppo +1 more

Yong Xia, Yaling Yin, Haibo Chen +2 more

We demonstrate electrostatic guiding of cold heavy water (D(2)O) molecules over a distance of 44.5 cm by using a quadrupolelike electrostatic field, which is generated by the combination of two parallel charged poles and two grounded metal plates. We measure the transverse spatial distribution of the guided D(2)O molecular beam and study the dependence of the relative guiding efficiency and the transverse temperature of the guided molecular beam on the guiding voltage. Our study shows that the maximum guiding efficiency of approximately 50% can be obtained, and our experimental results are in good agreement with ones of theoretical calculation and Monte Carlo simulations, and this guiding scheme has some potential applications in molecule optics, such as molecular-beam splitter, integrated molecular optics, etc.

Min Sun, Jianping Yin

We propose a scheme to guide and funnel cold polar molecules above the surface of an insulating substrate (i.e., a molecular chip) using an electrostatic field generated by the combination of three parallel charged wires. We calculate the spatial distributions of the electric fields from the above charged-wire layout and their Stark potential for cold CO molecules, and analyze the relationships between the electric field and the geometric parameters of our charged-wire system. Also, we calculate and study the straight and bent guiding efficiency of cold polar molecules (including the guiding efficiency in our molecular funnel) by Monte Carlo simulation. Our study shows that the proposed charged-wire scheme can be used to realize the controllable surface guiding of cold polar molecules in the weak-field-seeking state on a chip, and form various integrated molecular optical elements, even to generate a continous wave cold molecular beam on a chip. In addition, our theoretically calculated results are in good agreement with ones of Monte Carlo simulation, and the guiding efficiency in our molecular funnel can be higher than 90%.

D. Meiser, T. Miyakawa, Hermann Uys +1 more

Jochen Küpper

Runqin Liu, Yaling Yin, Jianping Yin

A novel scheme for guiding arbitrary buffer-gas cooled neutral molecules in a hollow optical fiber (HOF) using a red-detuned HE 11 mode is proposed and analysed theoretically. We give the electromagnetic field distribution of the HE 11 mode in the HOF and calculate the optical potential of an I 2 molecule, and study the molecule guiding mechanism using a classical Monte Carlo simulation. Using a 6 kW input laser, an S-shape HOF with a 2 cm curvature radius for both bends, and an input molecular beam with a transverse temperature of 0.5 K and longitudinal temperature of 5 K, we obtain a guiding efficiency of ∼0.126% for the scheme, and the transverse and longitudinal temperatures of the guided molecular beam are 1.9 mK and 0.5 K, respectively.