Letter abstract
Nature Physics 3, 115 - 118 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nphys513
Subject Categories: Atomic and molecular physics | Chemical physics
A molecular synchrotron
Cynthia E. Heiner1, David Carty1, Gerard Meijer1 and Hendrick L. Bethlem1,2
Many of the tools for manipulating the motion of neutral atoms and molecules take their inspiration from techniques developed for charged particles. Traps for atoms—akin to the Paul trap for ions1—have paved the way for many exciting experiments, ranging from ultra-precise clocks2 to creating quantum degenerate matter3, 4. Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to developing a neutral particle analogue of a synchrotron—arguably, the most celebrated tool of the charged-particle physicist5, 6. So far, the few experiments dealing with ring structures for neutral particles have used cylindrically symmetric designs7, 8, 9; in these rings, no force is applied to the particles along the longitudinal direction and the stored particles are free to fill the entire ring. Here, we demonstrate a synchrotron for neutral polar molecules. A packet of ammonia molecules is accelerated, decelerated and focused along the longitudinal direction ('bunched') using the fringe fields between the two halves of a segmented hexapole ring. The stored bunch of cold molecules (T=0.5 mK) is confined to a 3 mm packet even after a flight distance of over 30 m (40 round trips). Furthermore, we show the injection of multiple packets into the ring.
- Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany
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Laser Centre Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, NL-1081HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Present address: Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK
Correspondence to: Cynthia E. Heiner1 e-mail: heiner@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
Correspondence to: Hendrick L. Bethlem1,2 e-mail: rick@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
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A prototype storage ring for neutral moleculesNature Letters to Editor (10 May 2001)
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