High-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules
  We demonstrate and characterize a high-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules. The desired species is vaporized using laser ablation, then cooled by thermalization in a cryogenic cell of buffer gas. The beam is formed by particles exiting a hole in the buffer gas cell. We characterize the properties of the beam (flux, forward velocity, temperature) for both an atom (Na) and a molecule (PbO) under varying buffer gas density, and discuss conditions for optimizing these beam parameters. Our source compares favorably to existing techniques of beam formation, for a variety of applications. 
S. E. Maxwell (1), N. Brahms (1), R. deCarvalho (1), J. Helton (3), S.   V. Nguyen (1), D. Patterson (1), J. M. Doyle (1), D...