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Title: Magnetic Trapping and Zeeman Relaxation of NH (X {sup 3}{sigma}{sup -})

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
  2. Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
  3. Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

NH radicals are magnetically trapped and their Zeeman relaxation and energy transport collision cross sections with helium are measured. Continuous buffer-gas loading of the trap is direct from a room-temperature molecular beam. The Zeeman relaxation (inelastic) cross section of magnetically trapped electronic, vibrational, and rotational ground state NH molecules in collisions with {sup 3}He is measured to be 3.8{+-}1.1x10{sup -19} cm{sup 2} at 710 mK. The NH-He energy transport cross section is also measured, indicating a ratio of diffusive to inelastic cross sections of {gamma}=7x10{sup 4}, in agreement with recent theory [R. V. Krems, H. R. Sadeghpour, A. Dalgarno, D. Zgid, J. Klos, and G. Chalasinski, Phys. Rev. A 68, 051401 (2003)].

OSTI ID:
20951396
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 21; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.213001; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English