How to supercool polar molecules

Ars Technica : Do supercooled molecules exhibit interesting properties such as superfluidity or form BoseâEinstein condensates the way supercooled atoms do? To find out, Martin Zeppenfeld of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany and his colleagues have developed a method to reduce moleculesâmdash;which are more polarized than atomsâmdash;to temperatures near absolute zero (-273.15 °C). They sent a stream of fluoromethane (CH ₃F) molecules into a trap of standing microwaves crossed with an IR laser. The combination of excitation by the laser and the jostling from the radio waves caused the molecules to rapidly lose energy. By continually adjusting the frequency of the radio waves and repeating the process over and overâmdash;a technique called Sisyphean coolingâmdash;the researchers were able to lower the temperature of the molecules to near absolute zero for at least 27 seconds.