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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference

Rotationally-resolved depletion spectroscopy of ultracold KRb molecules

Dajun Wang, J. T. Kim, C. Ashbaugh, Edward E. Eyler, P. L. Gould, William C. Stwalley

Published May 1, 2007• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We use photoassociation of ultracold atoms to produce ultracold KRb molecules in high vibrational levels of the ground state. Depletion spectroscopy is employed to detect these molecules with both vibrational and rotational resolution.
DOI
10.1109/qels.2007.4431661

Related papers

Rotationally resolved depletion spectroscopy of ultracold KRb molecules

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We report on the use of depletion spectroscopy to detect ultracold ground-state KRb molecules with rotational resolution. The population of a specific ground-state vibrational level ${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}$, produced by photoassociation of ultracold atoms, is monitored by one-color two-photon pulsed-laser ionization. When a cw laser is resonant with a rovibrational transition to an excited state, the ground-state population, and hence the ion signal, is depleted. This narrow-band spectroscopic technique allows the individual rotational levels in both ground and excited states to be resolved, and thus the population of a single ground-state rovibrational level to be monitored. These resolved transitions are a necessary first step in transferring population from high vibrational levels of the ground state, such as produced by photoassociation, to the absolute molecular ground state $X\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}^{+}$ (${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}=0$, ${J}^{\ensuremath{''}}=0$). This technique can also be used to determine binding energies of high-${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}$ molecules. Combining our binding energy measurement with the results of previous spectroscopy yields an improved dissociation energy of the $X$ state: ${D}_{e}=4217.822\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.003\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We also report on the two-color pulsed-laser ionization used to locate the depletion transitions.

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Production of ultracold heteronuclear KRb molecules

Dajun Wang

This thesis describes the spectroscopy work on ultracold 39K 85Rb molecules as part of our effort towards producing ground-state ultracold polar molecules. ^ The starting points of our experiment are laser cooled and trapped K and Rb atoms in dual-species MOTs and the molecule formation method is photoassociation (PA). A fraction of the PA-produced excited-state molecules can spontaneously emit to the two lowest electronic states, the X 1Σ + state and the a 3Σ + state, to form high vibrational level molecules. In order to develop a population transfer scheme to make deeply bound molecules, we have studied the spectroscopy of KRb in several steps. Besides the PA step, we have also carried out a state-selective detection experiment to study the population distribution of the high vibrational level molecules formed via spontaneous emission. The detection method is pulsed-laser based ion time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Due to the linewidth limitations of the pulsed laser, this detection method can only resolve vibrational structures. A cw laser induced ion depletion spectroscopy technique has been developed in order to obtain rotational resolution. Using this ion depletion method, we have studied a possible stimulated Raman transfer scheme via the 3 1Σ+ state. To this end, we have obtained all the spectroscopic information required to produce deeply bound KRb molecules in a single vibrational and rotational level. ^ Several other spectroscopic studies using the high vibrational level ultracold molecules are also discussed. ^

•Jan 1, 2007•0 citations

Formation and detection of ultracold ground-state molecules

Edward E. Eyler, Anguel Nikolov, H. Wang +2 more

Summary form only given. Although there has been stunning progress in the production of ultracold atoms (defined loosely as atoms with T<1 mK), efforts to produce translationally ultracold molecules were unsuccessful until very recently. Conventional laser cooling of atoms relies on the existence of a cycling transition, generally not an option in molecules because of their rotational and vibrational multiplicity. Various proposals have been offered to overcome this difficulty, including ultracold molecule production by photoassociation (PA) of ultracold atoms, buffer gas cooling, and cooling by a multiple-frequency laser. The first and second of these approaches have now been demonstrated successfully. This talk will describe some of these new experimental results, focusing particularly on our work at the University of Connecticut on ultracold K/sub 2/ molecules.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Jan 20, 2003•0 citations
We report on the use of depletion spectroscopy to detect ultracold ground-state KRb molecules with rotational resolution. The population of a specific ground-state vibrational level ${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}$, produced by photoassociation of ultracold atoms, is monitored by one-color two-photon pulsed-laser ionization. When a cw laser is resonant with a rovibrational transition to an excited state, the ground-state population, and hence the ion signal, is depleted. This narrow-band spectroscopic technique allows the individual rotational levels in both ground and excited states to be resolved, and thus the population of a single ground-state rovibrational level to be monitored. These resolved transitions are a necessary first step in transferring population from high vibrational levels of the ground state, such as produced by photoassociation, to the absolute molecular ground state $X\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}^{+}$ (${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}=0$, ${J}^{\ensuremath{''}}=0$). This technique can also be used to determine binding energies of high-${v}^{\ensuremath{''}}$ molecules. Combining our binding energy measurement with the results of previous spectroscopy yields an improved dissociation energy of the XXX state: ${D}_{e}=4217.822\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.003\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We also report on the two-color pulsed-laser ionization used to locate the depletion transitions.
This thesis describes the spectroscopy work on ultracold 39K 85Rb molecules as part of our effort towards producing ground-state ultracold polar molecules. ^ The starting points of our experiment are laser cooled and trapped K and Rb atoms in dual-species MOTs and the molecule formation method is photoassociation (PA). A fraction of the PA-produced excited-state molecules can spontaneously emit to the two lowest electronic states, the X 1Σ + state and the a 3Σ + state, to form high vibrational level molecules. In order to develop a population transfer scheme to make deeply bound molecules, we have studied the spectroscopy of KRb in several steps. Besides the PA step, we have also carried out a state-selective detection experiment to study the population distribution of the high vibrational level molecules formed via spontaneous emission. The detection method is pulsed-laser based ion time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Due to the linewidth limitations of the pulsed laser, this detection method can only resolve vibrational structures. A cw laser induced ion depletion spectroscopy technique has been developed in order to obtain rotational resolution. Using this ion depletion method, we have studied a possible stimulated Raman transfer scheme via the 3 1Σ+ state. To this end, we have obtained all the spectroscopic information required to produce deeply bound KRb molecules in a single vibrational and rotational level. ^ Several other spectroscopic studies using the high vibrational level ultracold molecules are also discussed. ^
Summary form only given. Although there has been stunning progress in the production of ultracold atoms (defined loosely as atoms with T<1 mK), efforts to produce translationally ultracold molecules were unsuccessful until very recently. Conventional laser cooling of atoms relies on the existence of a cycling transition, generally not an option in molecules because of their rotational and vibrational multiplicity. Various proposals have been offered to overcome this difficulty, including ultracold molecule production by photoassociation (PA) of ultracold atoms, buffer gas cooling, and cooling by a multiple-frequency laser. The first and second of these approaches have now been demonstrated successfully. This talk will describe some of these new experimental results, focusing particularly on our work at the University of Connecticut on ultracold K/sub 2/ molecules.