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arXiv · 2010.04068

Detection of NaRb Feshbach molecule by photodissociation

Fan Jia·Zhichao Guo·Lintao Li·Dajun Wang
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Abstract

We demonstrate detection of NaRb Feshbach molecules at high magnetic field by combining molecular photodissociation and absorption imaging of the photofragments. The photodissociation process is carried out via a spectroscopically selected hyperfine Zeeman level correlated with the Na ($3P_{3/2}$) + Rb ($5S_{1/2}$) asymptote which, following spontaneous emission and optical pumping, leads to ground-state atoms in a single level with near unity probability. Subsequent to the dissociation, the number of molecules is obtained by detecting the resultant $^{23}$Na and $^{87}$Rb atoms. We have also studied the heating effect caused by the photodissociation process and optimized the detection protocol for extracting the temperature of the molecular cloud. This method enables the $in~situ$ detection of fast time scale collision dynamics between NaRb Feshbach molecules and will be a valuable capability in studying few-body physics involving molecules.

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Fan Jia, Zhichao Guo, Lintao Li, Dajun Wang. 2020-10-08. Detection of NaRb Feshbach molecule by photodissociation. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.102.043327

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