Tin Htoo L&S Math & Physical Sciences
Vibration Isolation of a High-Finesse Optical Cavity
Cooling and trapping molecules has applications in precision measurement and quantum simulation. Unfortunately, laser cooling, which provides a powerful tool to cool molecules to microkelvin temperatures and load molecules into traps, is only possible on a special class of molecules with favorable energy level structures. To overcome this, we are developing a new trapping method that uses ultra-high laser intensities generated inside a high-finesse cavity, deep enough to confine buffer-gas-cooled molecules at temperatures up to 10 K. However, the cavity’s near-concentric geometry makes the cavity very sensitive to vibration and thermal drift, which can destabilize the trap.
This work investigates, characterizes, and suppresses such perturbations by measuring vibration spectra at key points throughout the apparatus and passively attenuating them. Residual vibration and drift will then be measured via an interferometer and addressed through active feedback. Together, these efforts will enable the first combined high-power cavity and cryostat trapping system, opening the door to a new class of molecules that have never before been trapped.
Message To Sponsor
I am truly grateful for your support, which is making my summer research experience possible. Working on vibration isolation of an optical cavity has given me not just an opportunity to do experimental work, but one that could enable an entirely new class of molecules to be trapped for the first time. This kind of hands-on research at the frontier of fundamental physics is exactly what I hoped to pursue, and it would not be possible without your generosity.