Two-dimensional subrecoil laser cooling

Λ-Enhanced Imaging of Molecules in an Optical Trap

We report on nondestructive imaging of optically trapped calcium monofluoride molecules using in situ Λ-enhanced gray molasses cooling. 200 times more fluorescence is obtained compared to destructive on-resonance imaging, and the trapped molecules remain at a temperature of 20  μK. The achieved number of scattered photons makes possible nondestructive single-shot detection of single molecules with high fidelity.

Laser-induced population transfer by adiabatic passage techniques

We review some basic techniques for laser-induced adiabatic population transfer between discrete quantum states in atoms and molecules.

Measurement of force-assisted population accumulation in dark states

Atoms can be accumulated by velocity-selective coherent population trapping (VSCPT) in dark states of very highly monovelocity, resulting in very narrow distributions. The optical pumping process that permits the population accumulation proceeds by random walk in momentum space and is of limited efficiency. Several authors have predicted that damping forces can enhance VSCPT in carefully chosen laser fields. We present corroboration of this idea with measurements showing increased efficiency for VSCPT.