Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 29: Poster: Cold Molecules

MO 29.12: Poster

Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 16:30–18:30, Poster A

Majorana transitions and their compensation in electric Ioffe- Pritchard traps — •Moritz Kirste, Melanie Schnell, Hendrick L. Bethlem, and Gerard Meijer — Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG, Abt. Molekülphysik, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin

Trapping of polar molecules with the use of the Stark effect is possible. Due to the Stark effect the molecules separate in low field seeking and high field seeking states. The low field seeking molecules can be trapped in the minimum of an electrostatic quadrupole trap. Trapped molecules are used in the study of dipole-dipole interaction and of the alignment of molecules in external fields as well as in the application of high-resolution spectroscopy. All these techniques are limited by the quality of the trap - the time the molecules remain in the trap and the trap depth - which is itself limited by the loss rate of the trap. Trap losses are caused by inelastic collisions of the electrostatically trapped molecules and by Majorana transitions. This poster gives a short overview of the theoretical background of Majorana transitions and their influence on electrostatically trapped ND3.

The Majorana losses in electrostatic quadrupole traps can be compensated by the use of a so called Ioffe-Pritchard trap. A Ioffe-Pritchard trap generates a quadrupole field which is non-zero at the center. They have already been realized for magnetic fields but not yet for electrostatic fields. This poster introduces different types of possible electric Ioffe-Pritchard trap configurations and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.