Photoassociative spectroscopy at long range in ultracold strontium.
We report photoassociative spectroscopy of 88Sr(2) in a magneto-optical trap operating on the 1S0-->3P1 intercombination line at 689 nm. Photoassociative transitions are driven with a laser red detuned by 600-2400 MHz from the 1S0-->1P1 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 1P1 atomic lifetime (tau=5.22+/-0.03 ns) and resolves a discrepancy between experiment and recent theoretical calculations.
Nagel
S B
SB
Department of Physics and Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251, USA.
Mickelson
P G
PG
Saenz
A D
AD
Martinez
Y N
YN
Chen
Y C
YC
Killian
T C
TC
Pellegrini
P
P
Côté
R
R