| Thermal isolation of trapped NH molecules is accomplished. We cool NH molecules to 500 mK using helium vapor buffer gas and magnetically trap them in the 4 Tesla field of an anti-Helmholtz superconducting magnet. The helium is introduced using a fast-acting cryogenic valve, allowing us to abruptly switch off the flow. The buffer gas rapidly exits the trapping region through a large diameter orifice. We trap 105 molecules with lifetimes exceeding 20 s. The prospect of extending the loading and trapping techniques to observe atom-molecule collisions is investigated. |
