Rotational state detection of electrically trapped polyatomic molecules

Detecting the internal state of polar molecules is a substantial challenge when standard techniques such as resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization or laser-induced fluorescense do not work. As this is the case for most polyatomic molecule species, in this paper we investigate an alternative based on state-selective removal of molecules from an electrically trapped ensemble. Specifically, we deplete molecules by driving rotational and/or vibrational transitions to untrapped states. Fully resolving the rotational state with this method can be a considerable challenge, as the frequency differences between various transitions are easily substantially less than the Stark broadening in an electric trap. However, by using a unique trap design that provides homogeneous fields in a large fraction of the trap volume, we successfully discriminate all rotational quantum numbers, including the rotational M-substate. (paper)