A cold beam of BaOH molecules using a water-vapor seeded neon gas

In this paper we report on the production and characterization of a cold beam of BaOH molecules using a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source. BaOH is a highly suitable molecule for studies of the violation of fundamental symmetries, such as the search for the electron’s electric dipole moment. BaOH molecules are synthesized inside the cold source through laser ablation of a barium metal target while water vapor is seeded into the neon buffer gas. The BaOH flux is significantly enhanced (∼11 times) when laser-exciting the barium atoms inside the buffer-gas cell on the 1 S 0 - 3 P 1 transition. A similar enhancement has been reported for other alkaline-earth(-like) monohydroxides. For typical source conditions, the molecular beam has an average velocity of ≈ 180 m s⁻¹ and an intensity of ∼ 10 9 molecules s⁻¹ in N = 1, which is comparable to that of cryogenic BaF beams.