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Abstract

Stark deceleration relies on time-dependent inhomogeneous electric fields which repetitively exert a decelerating force on polar molecules. Fourier analysis reveals that such fields, generated by an array of field stages, consist of a superposition of partial waves with well-defined phase velocities. Molecules whose velocities come close to the phase velocity of a given wave get a ride from that wave. For a square-wave temporal dependence of the Stark field, the phase velocities of the waves are found to be odd-fraction multiples of a fundamental phase velocity λ/τ, with λ and τ the spatial and temporal periods of the field. Here we study explicitly the dynamics due to any of the waves as well as due to their mutual perturbations. We first solve the equations of motion for the case of single-wave interactions and exploit their isomorphism with those for the biased pendulum. Next we analyze the perturbations of the single-wave dynamics by other waves and find that these have no net effect on the phase stability of the acceleration or deceleration process. Finally, we find that a packet of molecules can also ride a wave which results from an interference of adjacent waves. In this case, small phase stability areas form around phase velocities that are even-fraction multiples of the fundamental velocity. A detailed comparison with classical trajectory simulations and with experiment demonstrates that the analytic "wave model" encompasses all the longitudinal physics encountered in a Stark decelerator.