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arXiv · 1203.2989

Controlled Production of Sub-Radiant States of a Diatomic Molecule in an Optical Lattice

Abstract

We report successful production of sub-radiant states of a two-atom system in a three-dimensional optical lattice starting from doubly occupied sites in a Mott insulator phase of a quantum gas of atomic ytterbium. We can selectively produce either sub-radiant 1g state or super-radiant 0u state by choosing the excitation laser frequency. The inherent weak excitation rate for the sub-radiant 1g state is overcome by the increased atomic density due to the tight-confinement in a three-dimensional optical lattice. Our experimental measurements of binding energies, linewidth, and Zeeman shift confirm observation of sub-radiant levels of the 1g state of the Yb_2 molecule.

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Yosuke Takasu, Yutaka Saito, Yoshiro Takahashi, Mateusz Borkowski, Roman Ciuryło, Paul S. Julienne. 2012-03-14. Controlled Production of Sub-Radiant States of a Diatomic Molecule in an Optical Lattice. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.108.173002

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