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Photoassociative spectroscopy at long range in ultracold strontium

S. B. Nagel·P. G. Mickelson·A. D. Saenz·Y. N. Martinez·Y. C. Chen·T. C. Killian·P. Pellegrini·R. Cote
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Abstract

We report photoassociative spectroscopy of $^{88}$Sr$_2$ in a magneto-optical trap operating on the ${^1S_0}\to{^3P_1}$ intercombination line at 689 nm. Photoassociative transitions are driven with a laser red-detuned by 600-2400 MHz from the ${^1S_0}\to{^1P_1}$ atomic resonance at 461 nm. Photoassociation takes place at extremely large internuclear separation, and the photoassociative spectrum is strongly affected by relativistic retardation. A fit of the transition frequencies determines the ${^1P_1}$ atomic lifetime ($τ=5.22 \pm 0.03$ ns) and resolves a discrepancy between experiment and recent theoretical calculations.

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S. B. Nagel, P. G. Mickelson, A. D. Saenz, Y. N. Martinez, Y. C. Chen, T. C. Killian, P. Pellegrini, R. Cote. 2004-10-21. Photoassociative spectroscopy at long range in ultracold strontium. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.94.083004

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