Production of ultracold, absolute vibrational ground state NaCs molecules

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 2013.This dissertation describes a progression of experiments that are based on the association of ultracold (∼250 μK) Na and Cs atoms with laser light. One of the primary goals of the experiment is to form molecules in the absolute vibrational ground state. The work begins with our attempts to label, with certainty, spectral lines obtained from tuning either the photoassociation (PA formation) and Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI detection) lasers. To this end, we develop a technique that has heretofore never been used in the ultracold molecule community: pulsed depletion spectroscopy (PDS). Traditionally, depletion spectroscopy involves the use of narrow-linewidth CW lasers. However, the narrow linewidth and limited tuning ranges of diodes used for CW depletion spectroscopy mean that this technique is only helpful if the expected transitions are known to some degree in advance, and even then is primarily useful for determining closely-spaced rotational ground state populations. In contrast, the broad linewidth and flexible tuning range of a pulsed dye laser makes it suitable for the detection of vibrational progressions, allowing fast determination of ground state populations even without a priori knowledge of the transitions involved. We also use this technique in our investigation of excited state potential energy curves (PECs). We also investigate a range of PA resonances detuned from the Cs D1 and D2 lines. We find and label PA structure associated with at least 6, and possibly all 8 electronic states corresponding to both of the Cs 6P fine structure asymptotes. From the PA and depletion spectra, we obtain information on the PA scattering process and the excited electronic states. Among the PA spectra, we find several channels which directly form vibrational ground state molecules in the singlet electronic state. Finally, we manipulate the internal states of molecules created with PA using laser light. We use broadband laser sources to pump higher-lying singlet vibrational levels into the vibrational ground state. We also find a set of nearly-closed transitions which allow rotational pumping into the absolute rovibrational ground state