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arXiv:physics/0605019 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Formation of ultracold LiCs molecules

Stephan Kraft, Peter Frøhlich Staanum, J Lange, L. Vogel, Roland Wester, Matthias Weidemüller

Published Sep 25, 2006• 89 citations
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Abstract

We present the first observation of ultracold LiCs molecules. The molecules are formed in a two-species magneto-optical trap and detected by two-photon ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The production rate coefficient is found to be in the range 10 −18 cm 3 s −1 to 10 −16 cm 3 s −1 , at least an order of magnitude smaller than for other heteronuclear diatomic molecules directly formed in a magneto-optical trap.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/39/19/s13

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We present photoassociation spectroscopy of ultracold NaCs molecules formed in a dual-species magneto-optical trap. Excited-state molecules are formed in states correlating to the Na(3S 1/2 )+Cs(6P 3/2 ) asymptote. We assign the most prominent observed vibrational progression to the Ω=2 long range state based on a comparison with ab initio potentials. Molecules are secondarily excited before decaying to deeply bound levels of the electronic ground X 1 Σ + state where they are ionized and detected by time-of-flight mass spectroscopy.
We have produced ultracold heteronuclear KRb molecules by the process of photoassociation in a two-species magneto-optical trap. Following decay of the photoassociated KRb*, the molecules are detected using two-photon ionization and time-of-flight mass spectroscopy of KRb+{\mathrm{K}\mathrm{R}\mathrm{b}}^{+}KRb+. A portion of the metastable triplet molecules thus formed are magnetically trapped. Photoassociative spectra down to $91\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ below the K(4s)+Rb(5p1/2)\mathrm{K}(4s)+\mathrm{R}\mathrm{b}(5{p}_{1/2})K(4s)+Rb(5p1/2​) asymptote have been obtained. We have made assignments to all eight of the attractive Hund's case (c) KRb* potential curves in this spectral region.
Ultracold potassium molecules are produced in the $X^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}_{g}^{+}$ electronic ground state by photoassociation in a magneto-optical trap. They are detected sensitively and selectively by use of two-color resonant ionization, followed by time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. We observe deeply bound molecules with $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\cong}36$, at a temperature of about $300\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$. Presently about 1000 molecules/sec are produced, and much higher production rates should be attainable in the future.
We have produced ultracold polar RbCs molecules via photoassociation starting from laser-cooled 85 Rb and 133 Cs atoms in a dual-species, forced dark magneto-optical trap. The formed electronically excited RbCs* molecules correlated to the Rb(5S 1/2 ) + Cs(6P 1/2 ) dissociation limit are observed by trap loss spectroscopy. Following the decay of these excited RbCs* molecules, the formed ground state molecules are directly ionized by a two-photon single-color pulse dye laser, which is a new ionization mechanism for ground state RbCs molecules and thence detected by time-of-flight mass spectroscopy.