Progress Towards Producing and Trapping Cold Nitric Oxide

Abstract

I present the experimental results of a new source of cold molecular production using activated carbon and the design of the necessary apparatus. This new source may eliminate the need for laser ablation loading in buffer gas cooling experiments. I also analyze the relative signal amplitude of rotational lines of cold Nitric Oxide (NO) molecules in its lower fine structure state. Experimental results showing the effects of the hexapole velocity filter on the production of lowest ro-vibrational low field seeking states of a cold molecular sample of NO is also discussed. The sample is produced by the extraction of the cold fraction of the Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of a thermal source.

I also present a computer simulation method for filtering, guiding and magnetic trapping of cold molecular NO. In the filtering process, the low field electric seeking molecules interact with an inhomogeneous electrostatic field of a hexapole guide which is exploited to select the slow molecules from a cold molecular source. Given my computer simulation work, I assert that the resulting cold fraction in the non-magnetic $^{2}\Pi _{1/2}$ ground state can be directed into a permanent magnetic trap where it could be optically pumped into the $^{2}\Pi _{3/2 }$ fine structure state which can be magnetically trapped. I present the full simulation of the procedure and progress toward getting experimental results regarding the magnetic trapping of NO.