Stopping supersonic oxygen with a series of pulsed electromagnetic coils: A molecular coilgun

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to slow down molecular oxygen beams using pulsed electromagnetic coils, enabling potential applications in cold chemistry research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel molecular coilgun technique employing pulsed electromagnetic coils to decelerate oxygen molecules.

Findings

Successfully slowed oxygen molecules to near-rest

Demonstrated feasibility of electromagnetic deceleration for cold chemistry

Potential for precise control of molecular beams

Abstract

We report the stopping of a molecular oxygen beam, using a series of pulsed electromagnetic coils. A series of coils is fired in a timed sequence to bring the molecules to near-rest, where they are detected with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Applications to cold chemistry are discussed.