Efficient formation of deeply bound ultracold molecules probed by broadband detection

Matthieu Viteau (1) , Amodsen Chotia (1) , Maria Allegrini (1, 2) , Nadia Bouloufa (1) , Olivier Dulieu (1) , Daniel Comparat (1) , Pierre Pillet (1)

1 LAC - Laboratoire Aimé Cotton
2 CNISM - Physics Department

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.

Mots clés: Cold Molecules; Photoassociation; REMPI

Domaines: Physique Atomique [physics.atom-ph]

Matthieu Viteau, Amodsen Chotia, Maria Allegrini, Nadia Bouloufa, Olivier Dulieu, et al.. Efficient formation of deeply bound ultracold molecules probed by broadband detection. 2008. ⟨hal-00325293v2⟩