title: Coherent transfer of photoassociated molecules into the rovibrational ground state.
abstract: We report on the direct conversion of laser-cooled 41K and 87Rb atoms into ultracold 41K87Rb molecules in the rovibrational ground state via photoassociation followed by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. High-resolution spectroscopy based on the coherent transfer revealed the hyperfine structure of weakly bound molecules in an unexplored region. Our results show that a rovibrationally pure sample of ultracold ground-state molecules is achieved via the all-optical association of laser-cooled atoms, opening possibilities to coherently manipulate a wide variety of molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan. ka_cypridina@atomtrap.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aikawa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oasa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Naidon
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inouye