  We demonstrate and characterize a high-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms
or molecules. The desired species is vaporized using laser ablation, then
cooled by thermalization in a cryogenic cell of buffer gas. The beam is formed
by particles exiting a hole in the buffer gas cell. We characterize the
properties of the beam (flux, forward velocity, temperature) for both an atom
(Na) and a molecule (PbO) under varying buffer gas density, and discuss
conditions for optimizing these beam parameters. Our source compares favorably
to existing techniques of beam formation, for a variety of applications.
