We discuss an experimental approach allowing to prepare antihydrogen atoms for the GBAR experiment. We study the feasibility of all necessary experimental steps: The capture of incoming $bar{rm H}^+$ ions at keV energies in a deep linear RF trap, sym
pathetic cooling by laser cooled Be$^+$ ions, transfer to a miniaturized trap and Raman sideband cooling of an ion pair to the motional ground state, and further reducing the momentum of the wavepacket by adiabatic opening of the trap. For each step, we point out the experimental challenges and discuss the efficiency and characteristic times, showing that capture and cooling are possible within a few seconds.
We study the feasibility of nearly-degenerate two-photon rovibrational spectroscopy in ensembles of trapped, sympathetically cooled hydrogen molecular ions using a resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation (REMPD) scheme. Taking advantage of quasi-
coincidences in the rovibrational spectrum, the excitation lasers are tuned close to an intermediate level to resonantly enhance two-photon absorption. Realistic simulations of the REMPD signal are obtained using a four-level model that takes into account saturation effects, ion trajectories, laser frequency noise and redistribution of population by blackbody radiation. We show that the use of counterpropagating laser beams enables optical excitation in an effective Lamb-Dicke regime. Sub-Doppler lines having widths in the 100 Hz range can be observed with good signal-to-noise ratio for an optimal choice of laser detunings. Our results indicate the feasibility of molecular spectroscopy at the $10^{-14}$ accuracy level for improved tests of molecular QED, a new determination of the proton-to-electron mass ratio, and studies of the time (in)dependence of the latter.
We have fabricated and characterized a n-doped InSb Faraday isolator in the mid-IR range (9.2 $mu$m). A high isolation ratio of $approx$30 dB with a transmission over 80% (polarizer losses not included) is obtained at room temperature. Further possib
le improvements are discussed. A similar design can be used to cover a wide wavelength range (lambda ~ 7.5-30 $mu$m).
We report on higly accurate absolute frequency measurement against a femtosecond frequency comb of 6 saturated absorption lines of formic acid (HCOOH) with an accuracy of 1 kHz. We also report the frequency measurement of 17 other lines with an accur
acy of 2 kHz. Those lines are in quasi coincidence with the 9R(36) to 9R(42) CO$_2$ laser emission lines and are probed either by a CO$_2$ or a widely tunable quantum cascade laser phase locked to a master CO$_2$ laser. The relative stability of two HCOOH stabilized lasers is characterized by a relative Allan deviation of 4.5 10$^{-12}$ $tau^{-1/2}$. They give suitable frequency references for H$_2^+$ Doppler free two-photon spectroscopy.
