We have demonstrated that a supersonic beam of methyl radicals (${\mathrm{CH}}_3$) in the ground rotational state of both para and ortho species has been slowed down to standstill with a magnetic molecular decelerator, and successfully captured spatially in an anti-Helmholtz magnetic trap for $>1\mathrm{s}$. The trapped ${\mathrm{CH}}_3$ radicals have a mean translational temperature of about 200 mK with an estimated density of $>5.0\times 10^7{\mathrm{cm}}^{-3}$. The methyl radical is an ideal system for the study of cold molecules not only because of its high reactivities at low temperatures, but also because further cooling below 1 mK is plausible via sympathetic cooling with ultracold atoms. The demonstrated trapping capability of methyl radicals opens up various possibilities for realizing ultracold ensembles of molecules towards Bose-Einstein condensation of polyatomic molecules and investigations of reactions governed by quantum statistics.

• Received 23 September 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.093201