Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme

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SYMC: Symposium Molecular Collisions at ultracold temperatures

SYMC 2: Molecular collisions at ultracold temperatures II

SYMC 2.4: Invited Talk

Monday, March 19, 2007, 18:00–18:30, 5D

Molecular collision studies with Stark-decelerated beams — •Gerard Meijer — Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

Molecular scattering behavior has generally proven difficult to study at low collision energies. We formed a molecular beam of OH radicals with a narrow velocity distribution and a tunable absolute velocity by passing the beam through a Stark decelerator. The transition probabilities for inelastic scattering of the OH radicals with Xe atoms were measured as a function of the collision energy in the range of 50 to 400 wavenumbers, with a high intrinsic energy resolution. The behavior of the cross-sections for inelastic scattering near the energetic thresholds was accurately measured, and excellent agreement was obtained with cross-sections derived from coupled-channels calculations on ab initio computed potential energy surfaces [Science 313, (2006) 1617-1620]. The possibilities to perform collision studies using either two Stark-decelerated beams in a crossed beam configuration or counter-propagating packets of molecules in a molecular synchrotron will be discussed. Time permitting, our experimental approach to the sympathetic cooling of polar molecules with ultra-cold Rb atoms will be presented as well.