Rotational State Analysis of AlH$^+$ by Two-Photon Dissociation
Abstract
We perform \textit{ab initio} calculations needed to predict the cross-section of an experimentally accessible ($1+1'$) resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation (REMPD) pathway in AlH$^+$. Experimenting on AlH$^+$ ions held in a radiofrequency Paul trap, we confirm dissociation via this channel with analysis performed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. We demonstrate the use of REMPD for rotational state analysis, and we measure the rotational distribution of trapped AlH$^+$ to be consistent with the expected thermal distribution. AlH$^+$ is a particularly interesting species for ion trap work because of its electronic level structure, which makes it amenable to proposals for rotational optical pumping, direct Doppler cooling, and single-molecule fluorescence detection. Potential applications of trapped AlH$^+$ include searches for time-varying constants, quantum information processing, and ultracold chemistry studies.Keywords
All Related Versions
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: