中国物理B ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (7): 73701-073701.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/adcb1f

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Dual-species stimulated deceleration of MgF molecules with Rb atoms

Jin Wei(魏晋)1, Di Wu(吴迪)1, Chenyu Zu(祖晨宇)1, Yong Xia(夏勇)1,2,3,†, and Jianping Yin(印建平)1   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China;
    2 Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China;
    3 NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
  • 收稿日期:2025-02-21 修回日期:2025-04-03 接受日期:2025-04-10 出版日期:2025-06-18 发布日期:2025-07-03
  • 通讯作者: Yong Xia E-mail:yxia@phy.ecnu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12174115 and 91836103).

Dual-species stimulated deceleration of MgF molecules with Rb atoms

Jin Wei(魏晋)1, Di Wu(吴迪)1, Chenyu Zu(祖晨宇)1, Yong Xia(夏勇)1,2,3,†, and Jianping Yin(印建平)1   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China;
    2 Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China;
    3 NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
  • Received:2025-02-21 Revised:2025-04-03 Accepted:2025-04-10 Online:2025-06-18 Published:2025-07-03
  • Contact: Yong Xia E-mail:yxia@phy.ecnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12174115 and 91836103).

摘要: We propose a scheme for dual-species deceleration and trapping of a cold atom-molecule mixture by a frequency chirping stimulated force. We study the stimulated force exerted on MgF and Rb using optical Bloch equations based on a direct numerical solution for the time-dependent density matrix. We analyze the relationship between the frequency chirping rate and the number of MgF molecules and Rb atoms. In addition, we study the dynamical process of molecular deceleration and the effect of transverse diffusion. Monte-Carlo simulations show that buffer-gas-cooled MgF and Rb beams, with initial velocities of 200 m/s and 130 m/s respectively, can be decelerated to less than 10 m/s. This is achieved with laser powers of as low as 357 mW for MgF and 10 mW for Rb per traveling wave. The rapid deceleration minimizes molecular loss due to transverse diffusion during the deceleration process. The estimated number of molecules that can be trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) is about 9.0$\times 10^{6}$, which is an order of magnitude larger than the number of MgF molecules decelerated by the spontaneous radiation force. The results offer a promising starting point for further studies of sympathetic cooling.

关键词: cold molecule, atomic and molecular mixture, frequency chirping, stimulated force

Abstract: We propose a scheme for dual-species deceleration and trapping of a cold atom-molecule mixture by a frequency chirping stimulated force. We study the stimulated force exerted on MgF and Rb using optical Bloch equations based on a direct numerical solution for the time-dependent density matrix. We analyze the relationship between the frequency chirping rate and the number of MgF molecules and Rb atoms. In addition, we study the dynamical process of molecular deceleration and the effect of transverse diffusion. Monte-Carlo simulations show that buffer-gas-cooled MgF and Rb beams, with initial velocities of 200 m/s and 130 m/s respectively, can be decelerated to less than 10 m/s. This is achieved with laser powers of as low as 357 mW for MgF and 10 mW for Rb per traveling wave. The rapid deceleration minimizes molecular loss due to transverse diffusion during the deceleration process. The estimated number of molecules that can be trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) is about 9.0$\times 10^{6}$, which is an order of magnitude larger than the number of MgF molecules decelerated by the spontaneous radiation force. The results offer a promising starting point for further studies of sympathetic cooling.

Key words: cold molecule, atomic and molecular mixture, frequency chirping, stimulated force

中图分类号:  (Slowing and cooling of molecules)

  • 37.10.Mn
37.10.-x (Atom, molecule, and ion cooling methods) 37.10.Pq (Trapping of molecules) 33.80.-b (Photon interactions with molecules)