Formation of quantum-degenerate sodium molecules.
Ultracold sodium molecules were produced from an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate by ramping an applied magnetic field across a Feshbach resonance. More than 10(5) molecules were generated with a conversion efficiency of approximately 4%. Using laser light resonant with an atomic transition, the remaining atoms could be selectively removed, preventing fast collisional relaxation of the molecules. Time-of-flight analysis of the pure molecular sample yielded an instantaneous phase-space density greater than 20.
Xu
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Department of Physics, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Mukaiyama
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Abo-Shaeer
J R
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Chin
J K
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Miller
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Ketterle
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