Magneto-Optical Trapping and Deep Cooling of BaF Molecules

BaF molecules are a promising candidate for Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) measurements due to their relatively heavy mass. By cooling them to low temperatures, the sensitivity of EDM measurements can be significantly enhanced. In this work, we present experimental progress in laser cooling and trapping BaF molecules. By closing the main transition to a level of 1E-5 and chirping the slowing lasers, BaF molecules are stopped at near-zero velocity and captured by a molecular Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) with a typical temperature of millikelvin (mK). Utilizing -enhanced gray molasses and a blue-detuned MOT, we further cool the BaF molecules to the microkelvin (µK) regime, providing an excellent starting point for loading into dipole traps.