Photoassociative Spectroscopy of $^{87}$Sr

TL;DR

This paper reports the first demonstration of photoassociation in ultracold fermionic $^{87}$Sr atoms, analyzing molecular states and atomic state lifetime, providing insights for future ultracold molecule experiments.

Contribution

It introduces photoassociation of $^{87}$Sr, fits molecular binding energies with a semiclassical model, and determines the $^1$P$_1$ atomic state lifetime, expanding understanding of Sr isotopes.

Findings

Determined the $^1$P$_1$ atomic state lifetime as 5.20 ± 0.02 ns.

Fitted molecular binding energies using the LeRoy-Bernstein model.

Predicted PA rates across various experimental conditions.

Abstract

We demonstrate photoassociation (PA) of ultracold fermionic $^{87}$Sr atoms. The binding energies of a series of molecular states on the $^1\Sigma^+_u$ $5s^2\,^1$S$_0+5s5p\,^1$P$_1$ molecular potential are fit with the semiclassical LeRoy-Bernstein model, and PA resonance strengths are compared to predictions based on the known $^1$S$_0+^1$S$_0$ ground state potential. Similar measurements and analysis were performed for the bosonic isotopes $^{84}$Sr and $^{86}$Sr, allowing a combined analysis of the long-range portion of the excited-state potential and determination of the $5s5p\,^1$P$_1$ atomic state lifetime of $5.20 \pm 0.02$ ns. The results enable prediction of PA rates across a wide range of experimental conditions.