A new design for a traveling-wave Zeeman decelerator: II. Experiment

A novel traveling-wave Zeeman decelerator based on a double-helix coil geometry capable of decelerating paramagnetic molecules with high efficiency is presented. Moving magnetic traps are generated by applying time-dependent currents through the decelerator coils. Paramagnetic molecules in low-field...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tomislav Damjanović, Stefan Willitsch, Nicolas Vanhaecke, Henrik Haak, Gerard Meijer, JeanPaul Cromiéres, Dongdong Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2021-01-01
Series:New Journal of Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac2c2b
Description
Summary:A novel traveling-wave Zeeman decelerator based on a double-helix coil geometry capable of decelerating paramagnetic molecules with high efficiency is presented. Moving magnetic traps are generated by applying time-dependent currents through the decelerator coils. Paramagnetic molecules in low-field-seeking Zeeman states are confined inside the moving traps which are decelerated to lower forward velocities. As a prototypical example, we demonstrate the deceleration of OH radicals from an initial velocity of 445 m s ^−1 down to various final velocities. The experimental results are analyzed and numerically reproduced with the help of trajectory simulations confirming the phase-space stability and efficiency of the deceleration of the molecules in the new device.
ISSN:1367-2630