Characterizing the Zeeman slowing force for 40Ca19F molecules

In this paper we investigate the feasibility of Zeeman slowing calcium monofluoride molecules originating from a cryogenic buffer gas cell. We measure the A(2)pi(1/2)(v = 0, J = 1/2) - X-2 Sigma(1/2) (v = 0, N = 1) hyperfine spectrum of CaF in the Paschen-Back regime and find excellent agreement with theory. We then investigate the scattering rate of the molecules in a molecular Zeeman slower by illuminating them with light from a 10 mW broad repumper and a 10 mW multi-frequency slowing laser. By comparing our results to theory we can calculate the photon scattering rate at higher powers, leading to a force profile for Zeeman slowing. We show results from a simple 1D simulation demonstrating that this force is narrow enough in velocity space to lead to significant velocity compression, and slowing of the molecules to trappable velocities.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the feasibility of Zeeman slowing calcium monofluoride molecules from a cryogenic buffer gas cell, and confirms the excellent agreement between experimental results and theoretical predictions. The study demonstrates that efficient slowing and trapping of molecules can be achieved using Zeeman slowing technique with appropriate light illumination.