Longitudinal focusing and cooling of a molecular beam.
A neutral polar molecule experiences a force in an inhomogeneous electric field. This electric field can be designed such that a beam of polar molecules is exposed to a harmonic potential in the forward direction. In this potential the longitudinal phase-space distribution of the ensemble of molecules is rotated uniformly. This property is used to longitudinally focus a pulsed beam of ammonia molecules and to produce a beam with a longitudinal velocity spread of 0.76 m/s, corresponding to a temperature of 250 mu K.
FOM-Institute for Plasmaphysics Rijnhuizen, P.O. Box 1207, NL-3430 BE Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
Floris M H
FM
Crompvoets
Rienk T
RT
Jongma
Hendrick L
HL
Bethlem
André J A
AJ
van Roij
Gerard
G
Meijer