Macroscopic production of spin-polarised hydrogen atoms from the IR-excitation and photodissociation of molecular beams

Abstract

We describe methods for the production of spin-polarised H and D atoms from the IR-excitation and photodissociation of molecular beams of HBr, HI, and NH₃ isotopes, including optical excitation schemes with partial hyperfine resolution. We discuss the extent to which the production rates may approach the IR-laser production rates of ${10}^{21}\mathrm{photons}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, and how the production rates of conventional methods of $\sim {10}^{17}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ may be surpassed significantly.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Spin-polarised hydrogen
• rotational polarisation
• hyperfine beats
• polarised targets

Acknowledgements

This work is dedicated to Oleg Vasyutinskii, whose work on polarisation in molecular physics has served as an inspiration to us. The authors would also like to gratefully acknowledge Alex Brown for kindly providing the Potential Energy Curves for HCl and HI molecules, as well as his support and advice on the wavepacket propagation dynamics.

Disclosure statement

T. Peter Rakitzis has submitted the PCT application titled: “Production of Neutral Beams of Highly Spin-Polarized Hydrogen Isotopes from Molecular Photodissociation”: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20210051794.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported in part by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), through the grant agreement No. HFRI-FM17-3709 (project NUPOL).