Coherent optical transfer of Feshbach molecules to a lower vibrational state

Using the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) we have coherently transferred ultracold (87)Rb(2) Feshbach molecules into a more deeply bound vibrational quantum level. Our measurements indicate a high transfer efficiency of up to 87%. Because the molecules are held in an optical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 98; no. 4; p. 043201
Main Authors Winkler, K, Lang, F, Thalhammer, G, Straten, P v d, Grimm, R, Denschlag, J Hecker
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 26.01.2007
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Summary:Using the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) we have coherently transferred ultracold (87)Rb(2) Feshbach molecules into a more deeply bound vibrational quantum level. Our measurements indicate a high transfer efficiency of up to 87%. Because the molecules are held in an optical lattice with not more than a single molecule per lattice site, inelastic collisions between the molecules are suppressed and we observe long molecular lifetimes of about 1 s. Using STIRAP we have created quantum superpositions of the two molecular states and tested their coherence interferometrically. These results represent an important step towards Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules in the vibrational ground state.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.043201