Abstract
We present data that show a cycling transition can be used to detect and image metastable triplet molecules in superfluid helium. We demonstrate that limitations on the cycling efficiency due to the vibrational structure of the molecule can be mitigated by the use of repumping lasers. Images of the molecules obtained using the method are also shown. This technique gives rise to a new kind of ionizing radiation detector. The use of triplet molecules as tracer particles in the superfluid promises to be a powerful tool for visualization of both quantum and classical turbulence in liquid helium.
- Received 10 September 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.025301
©2008 American Physical Society