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Progress towards laser cooling of BH molecules

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Title: Progress towards laser cooling of BH molecules
Authors: Holland, Darren
Item Type: Thesis or dissertation
Abstract: This thesis investigates the suitability of BH molecules for laser cooling and describes progress towards the laser cooling of this molecule. We produce a molecular beam of BH and measure the branching ratios for the excited electronic state, A^{1}\Pi(v_{0}=0), to decay to the various vibrational states of the ground electronic state, X^{1}\Sigma. We verify that the branching ratio for the spin-forbidden transition to an intermediate triplet state is inconsequentially small. We measure the frequency of the lowest rotational transition of the X state, and the hyper fine structure in the relevant levels of both the X and A states, and determine the nuclear electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole coupling constants. We use a semiclassical model of the molecule-light interaction to investigate the expected cycling behaviour on the main cooling transition using light with modulated polarisation. The results of the model are compared with the effect of modulating the polarisation experimentally using an electro-optic modulator. In order to repump the population that leaks into the first vibrationally excited state, we have designed, built and tested a suitable repump laser and have demonstrated that we can drive the repump transition. We have also designed a Zeeman slower for slowing molecules to low velocity so that they can be trapped. Our results show that a relatively simple laser cooling scheme can be used to cool, slow and trap BH molecules.
Content Version: Open Access
Issue Date: Aug-2016
Date Awarded: Apr-2017
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/45433
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25560/45433
Supervisor: Tarbutt, Michael
Sauer, Ben
Sponsor/Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Department: Physics
Publisher: Imperial College London
Qualification Level: Doctoral
Qualification Name: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Appears in Collections:Physics PhD theses



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