Cooling of a Zero-Nuclear-Spin Molecular Ion to a Selected Rotational State
Cooling of a Zero-Nuclear-Spin Molecular Ion to a Selected Rotational State
We demonstrate rotational cooling of the silicon monoxide cation via optical pumping by a spectrally filtered broadband laser. Compared with diatomic hydrides, SiO\+ is more challenging to cool because of its smaller rotational interval. However, the rotational level spacing and large dipole moment of SiO\+ allows direct manipulation by microwaves, …