The Journal of Chemical Physics

Photoassociative spectroscopy of 1g, 0+u, and 0−g states of Na2

L. P. Ratliff, Mark E. Wagshul, Paul D. Lett, S. L. Rolston, William D. Phillips

Published Aug 1, 1994• 100 citations

Abstract

We use photoassociation of ultracold Na to study transitions from free atoms to bound molecules. We obtain rovibrational spectra of the 1g, the 0+u, and, for the first time, the 0−g ‘‘purely long-range’’ state of Na2, all of which dissociate to Na(3 2S1/2)+Na(3 2P3/2).

DOI: 10.1063/1.467638

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The Journal of Chemical Physics

Photoassociative spectroscopy of 1g, 0+u, and 0−g states of Na2

L. P. Ratliff, Mark E. Wagshul, Paul D. Lett, S. L. Rolston, William D. Phillips

Published Aug 1, 1994• 100 citations

Publisher

Abstract

DOI: 10.1063/1.467638

Related papers

Spectroscopy of Na2 by photoassociation of laser-cooled Na

Paul D. Lett, Kristian Helmerson, William D. Phillips +3 more

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James P. Shaffer, Witek Chalupczak, N. P. Bigelow

We describe the spectroscopy of highly excited states of ultracold ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}$ molecules using a new photoassociative approach based on resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization. We excite a remarkable number of ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}$ rotational states providing a rich rovibrational spectrum. We thereby extract not only the first order quadrupole-quadrupole ( ${C}_{5}$ ) and the van der Waals constants ( ${C}_{6}$ ) but also sensitive atom-atom interaction parameters such as spin-spin, spin-orbit, and perturbative constants.We describe the spectroscopy of highly excited states of ultracold ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}$ molecules using a new photoassociative approach based on resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization. We excite a remarkable number of ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}$ rotational states providing a rich rovibrational spectrum. We thereby extract not only the first order quadrupole-quadrupole ( ${C}_{5}$) and the van der Waals constants ( ${C}_{6}$) but also sensitive atom-atom interaction parameters such as spin-spin, spin-orbit, and perturbative constants.

Physical Review LettersNov 1, 199915 citations

We have observed the spectrum of long range molecular states of singly excited

{\mathrm{Na}}_{2}

formed by photoassociation during ultracold associative ionization collisions of laser-cooled Na atoms. The low kinetic energy of the collision allows us to obtain very high resolution spectra and to observe states close to the dissociation limit. The spectrum shows regular vibrational series characteristic of the 1/

{\mathit{R}}^{3}

long range portion of the

{1}_{\mathit{g}}

potential (asymptotically

{\mathit{S}}_{1/2}

{\mathit{P}}_{3/2}

) as well as molecular hyperfine structure within these peaks. We extract potential parameters and compare with recent theory.

We have performed photoassociation spectroscopy to study the doubly excited states of

{\mathrm{Na}}_{2}

involved in the associative ionization of colliding

\mathrm{Na}(3P)

atoms. Rovibrational levels of two doubly excited potentials connected to the

{P}_{3/2}{+P}_{3/2}

asymptote, one of ${0}_{u}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and one of

{1}_{u}

symmetry, have been identified. These two doubly excited potentials dominate the route to ionization used in photoassociation experiments of cold Na. Binding energies and rotational constants for all the vibrational levels with binding energies

<50\mathrm{GHz}

have been measured. The asymptotic potentials and short-range ionization probabilities are extracted from the data.

We describe the spectroscopy of highly excited states of ultracold

{\mathrm{Na}}_{2}

molecules using a new photoassociative approach based on resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization. We excite a remarkable number of

{\mathrm{Na}}_{2}

rotational states providing a rich rovibrational spectrum. We thereby extract not only the first order quadrupole-quadrupole (

{C}_{5}

) and the van der Waals constants (

{C}_{6}

) but also sensitive atom-atom interaction parameters such as spin-spin, spin-orbit, and perturbative constants.