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Abstract

We report on the buffer-gas cooling and trapping of CrH and MnH molecules in a magnetic quadrupole trap with densities on the order of 10⁶ cm⁻³ at a temperature of 650 mK. Storage times of up to 180 ms have been observed, corresponding to a 20-fold lifetime enhancement with respect to the field-free diffusion through the ³He buffer-gas. Using Monte Carlo trajectory simulations, inelastic molecule-³He collision cross sections of 1.6×10⁻¹⁸ and 3.1×10⁻¹⁷ cm² are extracted for CrH and MnH, respectively. Furthermore, elastic molecule- ³He collision cross sections of 1.4(±0.5)×10⁻¹⁴ cm² are determined for both species. We conclude that the confinement time of these molecules in a magnetic trapping field is limited by inelastic collisions with the helium atoms leading to Zeeman relaxation.