479 research outputs found
Combination of a magnetic Feshbach resonance and an optical bound-to-bound transition
We use laser light near resonant with an optical bound-to-bound transition to
shift the magnetic field at which a Feshbach resonance occurs. We operate in a
regime of large detuning and large laser intensity. This reduces the
light-induced atom-loss rate by one order of magnitude compared to our previous
experiments [D.M. Bauer et al. Nature Phys. 5, 339 (2009)]. The experiments are
performed in an optical lattice and include high-resolution spectroscopy of
excited molecular states, reported here. In addition, we give a detailed
account of a theoretical model that describes our experimental data
Cavity-Enhanced Rayleigh Scattering
We demonstrate Purcell-like enhancement of Rayleigh scattering into a single
optical mode of a Fabry-Perot resonator for several thermal atomic and
molecular gases. The light is detuned by more than an octave, in this case by
hundreds of nanometers, from any optical transition, making particle excitation
and spontaneous emission negligible. The enhancement of light scattering into
the resonator is explained quantitatively as an interference effect of light
waves emitted by a classical driven dipole oscillator. Applications of our
method include the sensitive, non-destructive in-situ detection of ultracold
molecules.Comment: v2: 13 pages, 7 figures, small changes to the text, extended
description of the theoretical mode
A Mott-like State of Molecules
We prepare a quantum state where each site of an optical lattice is occupied
by exactly one molecule. This is the same quantum state as in a Mott insulator
of molecules in the limit of negligible tunneling. Unlike previous Mott
insulators, our system consists of molecules which can collide inelastically.
In the absence of the optical lattice these collisions would lead to fast loss
of the molecules from the sample. To prepare the state, we start from a Mott
insulator of atomic 87Rb with a central region, where each lattice site is
occupied by exactly two atoms. We then associate molecules using a Feshbach
resonance. Remaining atoms can be removed using blast light. Our method does
not rely on the molecule-molecule interaction properties and is therefore
applicable to many systems.Comment: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Atomic Physics
(ICAP 2006), edited by C. Roos, H. Haffner, and R. Blatt, AIP Conference
Proceedings, Melville, 2006, Vol. 869, pp. 278-28
Collisional effects in the formation of cold guided beams of polar molecules
High fluxes of cold polar molecules are efficiently produced by electric
guiding and velocity filtering. Here, we investigate different aspects of the
beam formation. Variations of the source parameters such as density and
temperature result in characteristic changes in the guided beam. These are
observed in the velocity distribution of the guided molecules as well as in the
dependence of the signal of guided molecules on the trapping electric field. A
model taking into account velocity-dependent collisional losses of cold
molecules in the region close to the nozzle accurately reproduces this
behavior. This clarifies an open question on the parameter dependence of the
detected signal and gives a more detailed understanding of the velocity
filtering and guiding process
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