The spontaneous dissociation of 85Rb dimers in the highest lying vibrational level has been observed in the vicinity of the Feshbach resonance that was used to produce them. The molecular lifetime shows a strong dependence on magnetic field, varying by 3 orders of magnitude between 155.5 G and 162.2 G. Our measurements are in good agreement with theoretical predictions in which molecular dissociation is driven by inelastic spin relaxation. Molecule lifetimes of tens of milliseconds can be achieved within approximately a 1 G wide region directly above the Feshbach resonance.The spontaneous dissociation of 85Rb dimers in the highest lying vibrational level has been observed in the vicinity of the Feshbach resonance that was used to produce them. The molecular lifetime shows a strong dependence on magnetic field, varying by 3 orders of magnitude between 155.5 G and 162.2 G. Our measurements are in good agreement with theoretical predictions in which molecular dissociation is driven by inelastic spin relaxation. Molecule lifetimes of tens of milliseconds can be achieved within approximately a 1 G wide region directly above the Feshbach resonance.

arXiv:cond-mat/0408144Physical Review LettersJan 18, 200559 citations

Detection of NaRb Feshbach molecules by photodissociation

Fan Jia, Zhichao Guo, Lintao Li +1 more

We demonstrate detection of NaRb Feshbach molecules at high magnetic field by combining molecular photodissociation and absorption imaging of the photofragments. The photodissociation process is carried out via a spectroscopically selected hyperfine Zeeman level correlated with the Na ( $3{P}_{3/2}$ ) $+$ Rb ( $5{S}_{1/2}$ ) asymptote which, following spontaneous emission and optical pumping, leads to ground-state atoms in a single level with near unity probability. Subsequent to the dissociation, the number of molecules is obtained by detecting the resultant $^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ and $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms. We have also studied the heating effect caused by the photodissociation process and optimized the detection protocol for extracting the temperature of the molecular cloud. This method enables the $in\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}situ$ detection of fast timescale collision dynamics between NaRb Feshbach molecules and will be a valuable capability in studying few-body physics involving molecules.We demonstrate detection of NaRb Feshbach molecules at high magnetic field by combining molecular photodissociation and absorption imaging of the photofragments. The photodissociation process is carried out via a spectroscopically selected hyperfine Zeeman level correlated with the Na ($3{P}_{3/2}$) $+$ Rb ($5{S}_{1/2}$) asymptote which, following spontaneous emission and optical pumping, leads to ground-state atoms in a single level with near unity probability. Subsequent to the dissociation, the number of molecules is obtained by detecting the resultant $^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ and $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms. We have also studied the heating effect caused by the photodissociation process and optimized the detection protocol for extracting the temperature of the molecular cloud. This method enables the $in\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}situ$ detection of fast timescale collision dynamics between NaRb Feshbach molecules and will be a valuable capability in studying few-body physics involving molecules.

arXiv:2010.04068Physical Review AOct 28, 20207 citations

Creation of heteronuclear Feshbach molecules with

^{85}

Rb and

^{87}

3{P}_{3/2}

)

+

Rb (

5{S}_{1/2}

) asymptote which, following spontaneous emission and optical pumping, leads to ground-state atoms in a single level with near unity probability. Subsequent to the dissociation, the number of molecules is obtained by detecting the resultant

^{23}\mathrm{Na}

and

^{87}\mathrm{Rb}

atoms. We have also studied the heating effect caused by the photodissociation process and optimized the detection protocol for extracting the temperature of the molecular cloud. This method enables the

in\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}situ

detection of fast timescale collision dynamics between NaRb Feshbach molecules and will be a valuable capability in studying few-body physics involving molecules.