Ultracold 88Sr2 molecules in the absolute ground state. (28th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leung, K H; Tiberi, E; Iritani, B; Majewska, I; Moszynski, R; Zelevinsky, T
• Is Part Of: New journal of physics. Volume 23:Number 11(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-28
• Subjects: ultracold molecules -- strontium -- molecular spectroscopy -- magic wavelength -- photoassociation -- STIRAP -- ultracold collisions; Physics -- Periodicals; Physics; Periodicals; 530.05
• DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ac2dac
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1367-2630

Abstract

Abstract: We report efficient all-optical creation of an ultracold gas of alkaline-earth-metal dimers, 88 Sr2, in their absolute ground state. Starting with weakly bound singlet molecules formed by narrow-line photoassociation in an optical lattice, followed by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) via a singlet-dominant channel in the ( 1 ) 0 u + excited potential, we prepare pure samples of more than 5500 molecules in X 1 Σ g + ( v = 0, J = 0 ) . We observe two-body collisional loss rates close to the universal limit for both the least bound and most bound vibrational states in X 1 Σ g + . We demonstrate the enhancement of STIRAP efficiency in a magic-wavelength optical lattice where thermal decoherence is eliminated. Our results pave the way for the use of alkaline-earth-metal dimers for high-precision spectroscopy, and indicate favorable prospects for robust quantum state preparation of ultracold molecules involving closed-shell atoms, as well as molecule assembly in deep optical traps tuned to a magic wavelength.