Electronic structure and laser cooling of LiAg and LiAu molecules

Abstract

The electronic structure and the possibility of laser cooling of LiAg and LiAu are investigated using ab initio method. The potential energy curves of Λ - S and Ω states for LiAg and LiAu molecules are calculated in our work. The spectroscopic parameters of electronic state are evaluated and the values are in good agreement with available theoretical and experimental data. We also predicated the transition property of LiAg and LiAu molecules, which include transition dipole moments, Franck – Condon factors and radiative lifetimes. The calculated results show that the b3Π1 − Χ1Σ+0+ transition possess highly diagonal Franck -Condon factors (f00 = 0.8918) and enough short radiative lifetime (3.0 × 10−6 s), which could meet the criterias of laser cooling molecule. A cycling system for laser cooling LiAu molecule is proposed by three lasers at wavelengths around 338 and 344 nm with 2500 cycles for photon.