Slowing molecules by optical microlinear deceleration

We study the creation of stationary cold molecules by rapid deceleration of supersonically cooled molecules in a high-intensity pulsed optical lattice. Using the heavy molecule I₂ as an example we predict the evolution of the velocity distribution function of the ensemble during the deceleration period, and show that stationary cold molecules with temperatures below 1 K and densities of approximately 10¹²cm^-3 can be produced over length scales of hundreds of micrometers on submicrosecond time scales.