  Cooling of molecules via free-space dissipative scattering of photons is
thought not to be practicable due to the inherently large number of Raman loss
channels available to molecules and the prohibitive expense of building
multiple repumping laser systems. The use of an optical cavity to enhance
coherent Rayleigh scattering into a decaying cavity mode has been suggested as
a potential method to mitigate Raman loss, thereby enabling the laser cooling
of molecules to ultracold temperatures. We discuss the possibility of
cavity-assisted laser cooling particles without closed transitions, identify
conditions necessary to achieve efficient cooling, and suggest solutions given
experimental constraints. Specifically, it is shown that cooperativities much
greater than unity are required for cooling without loss, and that this could
be achieved via the superradiant scattering associated with intracavity
self-localization of the molecules. Particular emphasis is given to the polar
hydroxyl radical (OH), cold samples of which are readily obtained from Stark
deceleration.
