Quantum Gas of Deeply Bound Ground State Molecules

2008/06/13 by Johann G. Danzl, Elmar Haller, Mattias Gustavsson +7 · 17 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Atomic physics #Bound state #Chemistry #Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Excited state #Feshbach resonance #Ground state #Molecule #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Quantum state #Resonance (particle physics) #Rotational–vibrational spectroscopy #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #cond-mat.other

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1159909

4 figures

arxiv created 2008/06/13 · openalex publication_date 2008/07/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Molecular cooling techniques face the hurdle of dissipating translational as well as internal energy in the presence of a rich electronic, vibrational, and rotational energy spectrum. In our experiment, we create a translationally ultracold, dense quantum gas of molecules bound by more than 1000 wave numbers in the electronic ground state. Specifically, we stimulate with 80% efficiency, a two-photon transfer of molecules associated on a Feshbach resonance from a Bose-Einstein condensate of cesium atoms. In the process, the initial loose, long-range electrostatic bond of the Feshbach molecule is coherently transformed into a tight chemical bond. We demonstrate coherence of the transfer in a Ramsey-type experiment and show that the molecular sample is not heated during the transfer. Our results show that the preparation of a quantum gas of molecules in specific rovibrational states is possible and that the creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of molecules in their rovibronic ground state is within reach.

Citations

• Coherent population transfer among quantum states of atoms and molecules
• Editorial: Quo vadis, cold molecules?
• Preparation of a quantum state with one molecule at each site of an optical lattice
• Quantum Phases of Dipolar Bosons in Optical Lattices

Cited by

• Magnetic merging of ultracold atomic gases ofRb<mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/>85andRb<mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/>87
• Dual-species Bose-Einstein condensate ofRb<mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/>87andCs<mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/>133
• Controlling the Hyperfine State of Rovibronic Ground-State Polar Molecules
• Core repulsion effects in alkali trimers
• Feshbach resonances, weakly bound molecular states, and coupled-channel potentials for cesium at high magnetic fields
• Remote Entanglement via Adiabatic Passage Using a Tunably Dissipative Quantum Communication System
• Achieving ground-state polar molecular condensates by chainwise atom-molecule adiabatic passage
• Efficient production of long-lived ultracold Sr2 molecules
• Hyperfine, rotational, and vibrational structure of thea3Σu+state ofRb<mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/>872
• Role of Quantum Fluctuations in the Hexatic Phase of Cold Polar Molecules
• Feshbach resonances in ultracold gases
• Deeply bound ultracold molecules in an optical lattice
• Feshbach resonances in ultracold atom-molecule collisions
• Dramatic Reductions in Inelastic Cross Sections for Ultracold Collisions near Feshbach Resonances
• Rydberg Trimers and Excited Dimers Bound by Internal Quantum Reflection
• Precision molecular spectroscopy for ground state transfer of molecular quantum gases
• Optimal trapping wavelengths of Cs2 molecules in an optical lattice

Related

• Ultracold Molecular Assembly
• Creating Ground State Molecules with Optical Feshbach Resonances in Tight Traps
• Spectroscopy and Ground-State Transfer of Ultracold Bosonic ³⁹K¹³³Cs Molecules
• Controlling the Hyperfine State of Rovibronic Ground-State Polar Molecules
• Optical Pumping and Vibrational Cooling of Molecules