Chinese Physics B
Enhancement of the photoassociation of ultracold atoms via a non-resonant magnetic field*
Jizhou Wu, Yuqing Li, Wenliang Liu, Peng Li, Xiaofeng Wang, Peng Chen, Jie Ma, Liantuan Xiao, Suotang Jia
Abstract
We report an effective method for enhancing the photoassociation of ultracold atoms using a non-resonant magnetic field, which enables the manipulation of the coupling between the wavefunctions of the colliding atomic pairs and the excited molecules. A series of photoassociation spectra are measured for different magnetic fields. We show that the photoassociation rate is significantly dependent on the non-resonant magnetic field. A qualitatively theoretical explanation is provided, and shows a good agreement with the experimental result.