Oral: Towards laser cooling of an asymmetric top molecule

The complex internal structure of molecules offers unique opportunities for applications in quantum computing, quantum simulation, precision metrology, and quantum chemistry. In recent years, the laser cooling toolbox has successfully expanded from atoms to diatomic molecules to simple polyatomic molecules. Extending laser cooling to increasingly complex molecular structures could unlock even more possibilities in these fields. However, increasing molecular complexity poses challenges in achieving optically closed transitions, needed for laser cooling. Building on the established success of optical cycling in diatomic, linear triatomic, and symmetric top molecules, recent studies suggest the potential for optical cycling in (at least a subset of) asymmetric top molecules. In this talk, we present progress on our asymmetric top molecule laser cooling experiment, aiming to demonstrate photon cycling, understand rotational closure, and perform one-dimensional laser cooling in the simple asymmetric top molecule CaNH₂.