We are developing methods for directly cooling gases of the diatomic molecule SrF, with an aim towards increased phase-space density and, ultimately, creating a Bose-Einstein condensate of polar molecules.  We report on recent progress, starting from our recently-developed radio-frequency magneto-optical trap (RF-MOT) that produces and traps SrF at sub-millikelvin temperatures.  After release from the RF-MOT, we demonstrate sub-Doppler cooling to temperatures as low as ~50 μK, efficient capture into a long-lived, conservative magnetic trap, and subsequent spatial compression of SrF in the magnetic trap.  We will discuss prospects for increased phase space density of SrF via sympathetic cooling, evaporative cooling, and/or Raman sideband cooling.

Direct cooling of polar molecules: Exploring a path to quantum degeneracy

255th National Meeting (2018)

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