2008/06/07 by Philippe Pellegrini, Marko Gacesa, Robin Côté
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Bound state #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Feshbach resonance #Heteronuclear molecule #Molecule #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Ranging #Resonance (particle physics) #Ultracold atom #physics.atom-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.101.053201
arxiv created 2008/06/07 · openalex publication_date 2008/08/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Ultracold molecules offer a broad variety of applications, ranging from metrology to quantum computing. However, forming "real" ultracold molecules, i.e., in deeply bound levels, is a very difficult proposition. Here, we show how photoassociation in the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance enhances molecular formation rates by several orders of magnitude. We illustrate this effect in heteronuclear systems, and find giant rate coefficients even in deeply bound levels. We also give a simple analytical expression for the photoassociation rate and discuss future applications of the Feshbach-optimized photoassociation technique.