Accurate determination of the scattering length of metastable helium atoms using dark resonances between atoms and exotic molecules.
We present a new measurement of the s-wave scattering length a of spin-polarized helium atoms in the 2(3)S1 metastable state. Using two-photon photoassociation spectroscopy and dark resonances, we measure the energy E(nu)=14= -91.35+/- 0.06 MHz of the least-bound state nu = 14 in the interaction potential of the two atoms. We deduce a value of a=7.512+/-0.005 nm, which is at least 100 times more precise than the best previous determinations and is in disagreement with some of them. This experiment also demonstrates the possibility to create exotic molecules binding two metastable atoms with a lifetime of the order of 1 micros.
Ecole Normale Supérieure and Collège de France, Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
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Moal
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Portier
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Kim
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Dugué
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Rapol
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M
Leduc
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Cohen-Tannoudji