Cruising Through Molecular Bound-State-Manifolds With Radio-Frequency

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

F Lang, P Van der Straten, B Brandstatter, G Thalhammer, K Winkler, Paul S. Julienne, R Grimm, J Hecker Denschlag

Abstract

The emerging field of ultracold molecules with their rich internal structure is currently attracting a lot of interest. Various methods have been developed to produce ultracold molecules in pre-set quantum states. For future experiments it will be important to efficiently transfer these molecules from their initial quantum state to other quantum states of interest. Optical Raman schemes like STIRAP are excellent tools for transfer, but can be complex and involved in terms of laser stabilization and finding the right transitions. Here we demonstrate a very general and simple way for coherent transfer of molecules from one quantum state to a neighboring quantum state with better than 99% efficiency. The scheme is based on Zeeman tuning the molecular state to avoided level crossings where radio-frequency transitions can then be carried out. By repeating this process at different crossings, molecules can be successively transported through a large manifold of quantum states. As an important byproduct of our experiments, we demonstrate a novel high-precision spectroscopy of level crossings.

Citation

Nature Physics

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

adiabatic passage, cold molecules, Feshbach resonance, radio frequency spectroscopy

Citation

Lang, F. , Van der Straten, P. , Brandstatter, B. , Thalhammer, G. , Winkler, K. , Julienne, P. , Grimm, R. and Hecker Denschlag, J. (2021), Cruising Through Molecular Bound-State-Manifolds With Radio-Frequency, Nature Physics (Accessed October 12, 2025)