Guiding slow polar molecules with a charged wire

We demonstrate experimentally the guiding of cold and slow ND3 molecules along a thin charged wire over a distance of similar to 0.34 m through an entire molecular beam apparatus. Trajectory simulations confirm that both linear and quadratic high-field-seeking Stark states can be efficiently guided from the beam source up to the detector. A density enhancement up to a factor 7 is reached for beams with velocities ranging down to similar to 150 m/s generated by the rotating nozzle technique.