Conversion of an atomic Fermi gas to a long-lived molecular Bose gas.
We have converted an ultracold Fermi gas of 6Li atoms into an ultracold gas of 6Li2 molecules by adiabatic passage through a Feshbach resonance. Approximately 1.5 x 10(5) molecules in the least-bound, v=38, vibrational level of the X1Sigma(+)(g) singlet state are produced with an efficiency of 50%. The molecules remain confined in an optical trap for times of up to 1 s before we dissociate them by a reverse adiabatic sweep.
Strecker
Kevin E
KE
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77251, USA.
Partridge
Guthrie B
GB
Hulet
Randall G
RG