Molecules of fermionic atoms in an optical lattice.
We create molecules from fermionic atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice using a Feshbach resonance. In the limit of low tunneling, the individual wells can be regarded as independent three-dimensional harmonic oscillators. The measured binding energies for varying scattering length agree excellently with the theoretical prediction for two interacting atoms in a harmonic oscillator. We demonstrate that the formation of molecules can be used to measure the occupancy of the lattice and perform thermometry.
Stöferle
Thilo
T
Institute of Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Moritz
Henning
H
Günter
Kenneth
K
Köhl
Michael
M
Esslinger
Tilman
T