Rotational quenching in ionic systems at ultracold temperatures

Cold interactions and chemical reactions of linear polyatomic anions with alkali-metal and alkaline-earth-metal atoms

Cold interactions and channels of chemical reactions between linear polyatomic anions and atoms are investigated, opening the way for sympathetic cooling and controlled chemistry in these systems.

Light-assisted ion-neutral reactive processes in the cold regime: radiative molecule formation versus charge exchange

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of cold reactive collisions between laser-cooled Ca+ ions and Rb atoms in an ion-atom hybrid trap. We observe rich chemical dynamics which are interpreted in terms of nonadiabatic and radiative charge exchange as well as radiative molecule formation using high-level electronic structure calculations. We study the role of light-assisted processes and show that the efficiency of the dominant chemical pathways is considerably enhanced in excited reaction channels. Our results illustrate the importance of radiative and nonradiative processes for the cold chemistry occurring in ion-atom hybrid traps.