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Precision spectroscopy and laser-cooling scheme of a radium-containing molecule
Tijdschriftbijdrage - e-publicatie
Molecules containing heavy radioactive nuclei are predicted to be extremely sensitive to violations of the fundamental symmetries of nature. The nuclear octupole deformation of certain radium isotopes massively boosts the sensitivity of radium monofluoride molecules to symmetry-violating nuclear properties. Moreover, these molecules are predicted to be laser coolable. Here we report measurements of the rovibronic structure of radium monofluoride molecules, which allow the determination of their laser cooling scheme. We demonstrate an improvement in resolution of more than two orders of magnitude compared to the state of the art. Our developments allowed measurements of minuscule amounts of hot molecules, with only a few hundred per second produced in a particular rotational state. The combined precision and sensitivity achieved in this work offer opportunities for studies of radioactive molecules of interest in fundamental physics, chemistry and astrophysics.
Tijdschrift: Nature Physics
ISSN: 1745-2473
Issue: 2
Volume: 20
Pagina's: 202 - 207
Jaar van publicatie:2024
Trefwoorden:Multidisciplinaire natuurkunde
Toegankelijkheid:Open