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.
Institute of Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Thilo
T
Stöferle
Henning
H
Moritz
Kenneth
K
Günter
Michael
M
Köhl
Tilman
T
Esslinger