Characterizing Collisions Between Ultracold Rb and Cold OH in Dual Electromagnetic Trap

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/g732db50w

Abstract

The interactions between cold and ultracold molecules can provide crucial insights into the chemistry of extreme environments, the transition from classical to quantum reaction dynamics, and precision measurements of reactions or fundamental constants. The OH Rb Interactions in Trap (OHRbIT) experiment characterizes elastic and inelastic collisions between magnetically trapped Rb atoms and electrically trapped OH molecules by transporting magneto-optical trapped Rb atoms to the slowed OH molecules. Inelastic collisions cause trap loss while elastic collisions promote sympathetic cooling through thermal equilibrium. In this thesis, I describe the required alignment preparation of the traps and clouds, as well as preliminary results of the inelastic cross section of OH-Rb collisions and the Rb distribution in the dual trap over time.

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