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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R14316/01
Title: The Development of a Photoassociation Experiment To Study Highly Excited States of Alkali-Metal Dimers
Principal Investigator: Shiell, Dr R
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Organisation: University of Sussex
Scheme: Fast Stream
Starts: 01 October 2000 Ends: 30 September 2003 Value (£): 60,091
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Cold Atomic Species
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Chemicals Electronics
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Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Recent advances in the cooling and trapping of atoms have revolutionised the field of creating cold molecules using the techniques of photoassociation spectroscopy. These molecules travel at very low velocity in the laboratory and have applications both as a scientific tool of investigation and to the development of various trapping techniques. As an investigative tool, photoassociation spectroscopy probes the long range interactions in molecules, which reflect both the properties of the constituent atoms and the physics of collisional processes between these atoms. The molecules created by this process may also be used to advance techniques for molecule manipulation and trapping, and , through dissociation of these molecules, as a highly monoenergetic source of fragments.The aim of this research is to contribute significantly to the knowledge about, and development and exploitation of, photoassociation in both of these areas. The specific objectives are to create a cold source of either a singular species or two species of atoms from which cold molecules can be formed, and subsequently study the spectroscopy of their highly excited states with particular attention paid to those molecular states that decay to a molecular ion and free electron, or oppositely charged ion-pairs.
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Organisation Website: http://www.sussex.ac.uk