Low Energy Scattering Resonances and Dipole-dipole Collisions with ND3

Abstract

In this dissertation, collisions between cold molecules are investigated. This way, one learns about the interaction between molecules, as well as the various quantum mechanical effects that are important during these collisions. This research is fundamental in scope, but relevant to both science and technology. That is because a better understanding and control of these quantum mechanical systems might contribute to the development of new devices such as quantum sensors, and possibly even quantum computers, based on cold molecules. The ammonia molecule plays the lead role in this work. This molecule has a strong dipole moment, a unique property compared to previous studies. In this thesis, several methods are developed, detailed and demonstrated that make it possible to effectively use ammonia for these state-of-the-art experiments for the first time.