Frankfurt 2006 – scientific programme

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Q: Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 21: Ultrakalte Moleküle

Q 21.5: Talk

Tuesday, March 14, 2006, 11:40–11:55, HII

Atom-Molecule Dark States in a Bose-Einstein Condensate — •Gregor Thalhammer¹, Klaus Winkler¹, Matthias Theis¹, Helmut Ritsch², Rudolf Grimm^1,3, and Johannes Hecker Denschlag¹ — ¹Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Austria — ²Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Austria — ³Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Innsbruck, Austria

We have created a dark quantum superposition state of a Rb Bose-Einstein condensate and a degenerate gas of Rb₂ ground-state molecules in a specific rovibrational state using two-color photoassociation. As a signature for the decoupling of this coherent atom-molecule gas from the light field, we observe a striking suppression of photoassociation loss. In our experiment the maximal molecule population in the dark state is limited to about 100 Rb₂ molecules due to laser induced decay. The experimental findings can be well described by a simple three mode model.