Photostop: production of zero-velocity molecules by photodissociation in a molecular beam

Trottier, A.; Carty, D.; Wrede, E.

doi:10.1080/00268976.2010.550142

Photostop: production of zero-velocity molecules by photodissociation in a molecular beam

Trottier, A.; Carty, D.; Wrede, E.

Authors

A. Trottier

Dr David Carty david.carty@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Dr Eckart Wrede eckart.wrede@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

Photostop is an accessible technique capable of producing atoms or molecules at a standstill in the laboratory frame. Starting with a NO2/Xe molecular beam with a mean velocity of 415 m s-1 and a longitudinal translational temperature of 6 K, NO2 molecules are photodissociated to yield NO(X [image omitted]) fragments with a recoil speed equal to the molecular beam speed. The fraction of NO fragments that recoil opposite to the molecular beam are produced with a 6 K longitudinal velocity distribution centred at zero. The NO molecules are allowed to 'evaporate' from the probe volume by waiting for 10

Citation

Trottier, A., Carty, D., & Wrede, E. (2011). Photostop: production of zero-velocity molecules by photodissociation in a molecular beam. Molecular Physics, 109(5), 725-733. https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2010.550142

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Mar 1, 2011
Deposit Date	Mar 16, 2011
Publicly Available Date	May 20, 2014
Journal	Molecular Physics
Print ISSN	0026-8976
Electronic ISSN	1362-3028
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	109
Issue	5
Pages	725-733
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2010.550142
Keywords	Cold molecules, Deceleration, Trapping, Photodissociation.