Mainz 2017 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 31: Poster Session III

A 31.1: Poster

Thursday, March 9, 2017, 17:00–19:00, P OG1

A two-species quantum gas experiment for the preparation of ultracold polar NaK molecules — Matthias W. Gempel, Torsten Hartmann, Torben A. Schulze, •Kai K. Voges, Alessandro Zenesini, and Silke Ospelkaus — Institut für Quantenoptik, Universität Hannover

Ultracold atomic quantum gas mixtures provide the starting point for the preparation of ultracold polar ground state molecules, which are excellent candidates for the study of quantum chemistry and exotic dipolar quantum phases. Here, we present an experimental apparatus for the preparation of ultracold Na and K quantum gas mixtures.

Sodium and potassium are two favorable candidates for a mixture experiment due to the well-known cooling strategies for the individual atoms and due to the large dipole moment of NaK molecules in their electronic and vibrational ground state.

We describe our experimental setup including a high resolution objective providing an experimentally verified resolution of approx. 700nm and a versatile electrode configuration for the manipulation and control of molecules in external electric fields. We present our approach towards the preparation of quantum degenerate Na+K mixtures, our progress on the measurement of the up-to-now unknown scattering properties of the boson-boson mixture and our envisioned pathway for the efficient conversion of NaK Feshbach molecules into ground state molecules.