Towards trapping cold hydrogen molecules

Due to its simplicity, H₂ constitutes a perfect tool for testing fundamental physics: testing quantum electrodynamics, determining fundamental constants, or searching for new physics beyond the Standard Model. H₂ has a huge advantage over the other simple calculable systems of having a set of a few hundred ultralong living rovibrational states, which implies the ultimate limit for testing fundamental physics with H₂ at a relative accuracy level of 10^-24. The present experiments are far from this limit. I will present our so far results of an ongoing project aimed at trapping cold H₂. We develop an ultra-strong optical dipole trap. The time-dependent potential is going to recapture the coldest fraction of the cryogenic H₂ cloud.