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arXiv · 2110.14475

Observation of Chemical Reactions between a Trapped Ion and Ultracold Feshbach Dimers

H. Hirzler·R. S. Lous·E. Trimby·J. Pérez-Ríos·A. Safavi-Naini·R. Gerritsma
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Abstract

We measure chemical reactions between a single trapped $^{174}$Yb$^+$ ion immersed in an ultracold bath of $^6$Li atoms containing trace amounts of Li$_2$ dimers. This produces LiYb$^+$ molecular ions that we detect via mass spectrometry. We explain the reaction rates by modelling the dimer density as a function of the magnetic field and obtain excellent agreement when we assume the reaction to follow the Langevin rate. Our results present a novel approach towards the creation of cold molecular ions and point to the exploration of ultracold chemistry in ion molecule collisions. What is more, with a detection sensitivity below molecule densities of $10^{14}\,\mathrm{m}^{-3}$, we provide a new method to detect low-density molecular gases.

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H. Hirzler, R. S. Lous, E. Trimby, J. Pérez-Ríos, A. Safavi-Naini, R. Gerritsma. 2022-04-06. Observation of Chemical Reactions between a Trapped Ion and Ultracold Feshbach Dimers. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.103401

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