Ultracold molecular gases are promising as an avenue to rich many-body physics, quantum
chemistry, quantum information, and precision measurements. This richness, which flows …

Strong optical forces with minimal spontaneous emission are desired for molecular
deceleration and atom interferometry applications. We report experimental benchmarking of …

We examine the prospects for utilizing the optical bichromatic force (BCF) to greatly enhance
laser deceleration and cooling for near-cycling transitions in small molecules. We discuss …

Stimulated optical forces offer a simple and efficient method for providing optical forces far in
excess of the saturated radiative force. The bichromatic force, using a counterpropagating …

We examine two approaches for significantly extending the velocity range of the optical
bichromatic force (BCF), to make it useful for laser deceleration of atomic and molecular …

We discuss a possible one-dimensional trapping and cooling of atoms and molecules due to
their nonresonant interaction with counterpropagating light pulse trains. The …

Reflection of thermal atoms by a pulsed standing wave with a duration in the nanosecond
range is studied. The momentum distribution of the reflected atoms is determined by …

Laser cooling and trapping has been essential to the study of ultracold atoms.
Conventionally, continuous wave (CW) lasers have been used almost exclusively to transfer …

In this thesis, the use of pulsed laser fields to control the center-of-mass motion of neutral
atoms and molecules is studied both numerically and experimentally. In particular, we …