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ChemPhysChem

Inside Cover: Principles and Design of a Zeeman–Sisyphus Decelerator for Molecular Beams (ChemPhysChem 22/2016)

Noah J. Fitch, Michael R. Tarbutt

Published Nov 17, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The Inside Cover picture illustrates the essential elements of the deceleration method; molecules propagate through an array of permanent magnets in the presence of a frequency-split optical-pumping laser, resulting in deceleration. More information can be found in the Full Paper by N. J. Fitch and M. R. Tarbutt on page 3609 in Issue 22, 2016 (DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201600656).

DOI
10.1002/cphc.201601149

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The Inside Cover picture illustrates the essential elements of the deceleration method; molecules propagate through an array of permanent magnets in the presence of a frequency-split optical-pumping laser, resulting in deceleration. More information can be found in the Full Paper by N. J. Fitch and M. R. Tarbutt on page 3609 in Issue 22, 2016 (DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201600656).
We explore a technique for decelerating molecules using a static magnetic field and optical pumping. Molecules travel through a spatially varying magnetic field and are repeatedly pumped into a weak-field seeking state as they move towards each strong field region, and into a strong-field seeking state as they move towards weak field. The method is time-independent and so is suitable for decelerating both pulsed and continuous molecular beams. By using guiding magnets at each weak field region, the beam can be simultaneously guided and decelerated. By tapering the magnetic field strength in the strong field regions, and exploiting the Doppler shift, the velocity distribution can be compressed during deceleration. We develop the principles of this deceleration technique, provide a realistic design, use numerical simulations to evaluate its performance for a beam of CaF, and compare this performance to other deceleration methods.
We present a robust, continuous molecular decelerator that employs high magnetic fields and few optical pumping steps. CaOH molecules are slowed, accumulating at low velocities in a range sufficient for loading both magnetic and magneto-optical traps. During the slowing, the molecules scatter only seven photons, removing around 8 K of energy. Because large energies can be removed with only a few spontaneous radiative decays, this method can in principle be applied to nearly any paramagnetic atomic or molecular species, opening a general path to trapping of complex molecules.
We demonstrate and characterize Zeeman-Sisyphus (ZS) deceleration of a beam of ytterbium monohydroxide. Our method uses a combination of large magnetic fields ($\ensuremath{\sim}2.5$ T) and optical spin-flip transitions to decelerate molecules while scattering only $\ensuremath{\sim}10$ photons per molecule. We study the challenges associated with the presence of internal molecular perturbations among the excited electronic states and discuss the methods used to overcome these challenges, including a modified ZS decelerator using microwave and optical transitions.
We present a moving-trap Zeeman decelerator (MTZD) for use in molecular beam manipulation and magnetic-trapping experiments of paramagnetic atoms and molecules. The 0.49 m MTZD consists of a combination of a 2D magnetic quadrupole guide and deceleration coils, which together produce an array of 3D magnetic traps. The design is based on that of Trimeche et al. with significant modifications. The 2D quadrupole is driven by fast rising and falling square pulses of current (up to 700 A) of arbitrary lengths of time. The traps can be made to move at velocities from ca. 370 m/s down to zero, which is done by driving through the deceleration coils a sinusoidal current with frequencies ranging from zero to ca. 9 kHz and peak currents up to 1000 A. The trap velocity is proportional to the current frequency. The MTZD manipulates the velocities of molecular beams by traveling initially at the same velocity as the beam. 3D guiding is achieved with a constant current frequency and deceleration is achieved with a downward chirp of the current frequency at a rate corresponding to the desired deceleration. We explain the technical design and operation principles of the MTZD and we detail the custom power electronics that drive the 2D quadrupole guide and the decelerator coils. We present extensive Monte-Carlo trajectory simulations to demonstrate the properties of the MTZD and we conclude that decelerations should be kept below 30000 m/s/s to maintain a good 6D phase-space acceptance. In proof-of-principle experiments, with the deceleration coils operating with a reduced current in the range 100-200 A, we demonstrate the 3D guiding of a beam of metastable argon atoms at 373 m/s and deceleration at 25000 m/s/s from 342 m/s to 304 m/s. The deceleration corresponds to the removal of 21% of the kinetic energy of the beam.
Zeeman deceleration is a relatively new technique used to obtain full control over the velocity of paramagnetic atoms or molecules in a molecular beam. We present a detailed description of a multistage Zeeman decelerator that has recently become operational in our laboratory [Cremers et al., Phys. Rev. A 98, 033406 (2018)] and that is specifically optimized for crossed molecular beams scattering experiments. The decelerator consists of an alternating array of 100 solenoids and 100 permanent hexapoles to guide or decelerate beams of paramagnetic atoms or molecules. The Zeeman decelerator features a modular design that is mechanically easy to extend to arbitrary length and allows for solenoid and hexapole elements that are convenient to replace. The solenoids and associated electronics are efficiently water cooled and allow the Zeeman decelerator to operate at repetition rates exceeding 10 Hz. We characterize the performance of the decelerator using various beams of metastable rare gas atoms. Imaging of the atoms that exit the Zeeman decelerator reveals the transverse focusing properties of the hexapole array in the Zeeman decelerator.