Spectroscopy of laser-ablated buffer-gas-cooled PbO at 4 K and the prospects for measuring the electric dipole moment of the electron - art. no. 030501

We demonstrate production of cold lead monoxide (PbO) molecules by laser ab lation in a cryogenic cell filled with helium buffer gas and cooled by a cr yostat to a temperature of 4 K. The molecules are probed by laser-induced f luorescence excited in the X-->B band. The molecules thermalize with the bu ffer gas, both translationally and rotationally, in less than 30 ms after t he ablation pulse. A single ablation pulse fired at the solid PbO sample yi elds about 10(12) cold molecules. We present an analysis indicating that bu ffer-gas cooled PbO molecules excited to either the a or B state could be e ffectively used to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the e lectron.