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Photoassociation inside an optical dipole trap: absolute rate coefficients and Franck-Condon factors

R. Wester·S. D. Kraft·M. Mudrich·M. U. Staudt·J. Lange·N. Vanhaecke·O. Dulieu·M. Weidemuller
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Abstract

We present quantitative measurements of the photoassociation of cesium molecules inside a far-detuned optical dipole trap. A model of the trap depletion dynamics is derived which allows to extract absolute photoassociation rate coefficients for the initial single-photon photoassociation step from measured trap-loss spectra. The sensitivity of this approach is demonstrated by measuring the Franck-Condon modulation of the weak photoassociation transitions into the low vibrational levels of the outer well of the 0g- state that correlates to the 6s+6p3/2 asymptote. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions. In a magneto-optical trap these transitions have previously only been observed indirectly through ionization of ground state molecules.

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R. Wester, S. D. Kraft, M. Mudrich, M. U. Staudt, J. Lange, N. Vanhaecke, O. Dulieu, M. Weidemuller. 2004-10-01. Photoassociation inside an optical dipole trap: absolute rate coefficients and Franck-Condon factors. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-004-1649-5

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