Efficient formation of deeply bound ultracold molecules probed by broadband detection

Viteau, Matthieu and Chotia, Amodsen and Allegrini, Maria and Bouloufa, Nadia and Dulieu, Olivier and Comparat, Daniel and Pillet, Pierre (2008) Efficient formation of deeply bound ultracold molecules probed by broadband detection. Physical review. A, Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 79 (2). 021402(R). ISSN 1094-1622

Abstract

SUMMARY Using a non-selective broadband detection scheme we discovered an efficient mechanism of formation of ultracold Cs$_2$ molecules in deeply bound levels ($v=1-9$) of their electronic ground state X$^1 \Sigma_g^+$. They are formed by a one-photon photoassociation of ultracold cesium atoms in a manifold of excited electronic states, followed by a two-step spontaneous emission cascade. We were able to form about $10^5-10^6$ molecules per second in these low vibrational levels of the ground state. This detection scheme could be generalized to other molecular species for the systematic investigation of cold molecule formation mechanisms.

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