Cold TiO(X 3Δ)-He collisions

Abstract

We use laser ablation and cryogenic helium buffer-gas cooling to produce large numbers of X 3Δ1 TiO molecules at a translational temperature of 5 K. We investigate their cold collisions with helium and measure elastic and inelastic scattering cross-sections. As expected for 3A molecules, which have large spin-rotation couplings, TiO 's inelastic m -changing collision cross-section is large: on the same order as its momentum transfer cross-section. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.