Comb-assisted cavity ring-down spectroscopy of a buffer-gas-cooled molecular beam

We demonstrate continuous-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy of a partially hydrodynamic molecular beam emerging from a buffer-gas-cooling source. Specifically, the ( v1 + v(3)) vibrational overtone band of acetylene (C2H2) around 1.5 mu m is accessed using a narrow-linewidth diode laser stabilized against a GPS-disciplined rubidium clock via an optical frequency comb synthesizer. As an example, the absolute frequency of the R(1) component is measured with a fractional accuracy of 1 X 10(-9). Our approach represents the first step towards the extension of more sophisticated cavity-enhanced interrogation schemes, including saturated absorption cavity ring-down or two-photon excitation, to buffer-gascooled molecular beams.