Coherent optical creation of a single molecule

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a coherent optical method to assemble a single NaCs molecule from two atoms in an optical tweezer using a Raman transition, achieving high efficiency without Feshbach resonances.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical Raman technique for molecule creation that is broadly applicable and does not depend on Feshbach resonances.

Findings

Achieved 69% transfer efficiency from atoms to molecule

Created a molecule with a binding energy of 770.2 MHz

Method does not require Feshbach resonances or narrow lines

Abstract

We report coherent association of atoms into a single weakly bound NaCs molecule in an optical tweezer through an optical Raman transition. The Raman technique uses a deeply bound electronic excited intermediate state to achieve a large transition dipole moment while reducing photon scattering. Starting from two atoms in their relative motional ground state, we achieve an optical transfer efficiency of 69%. The molecules have a binding energy of 770.2MHz at 8.83(2)G. This technique does not rely on Feshbach resonances or narrow excited-state lines and may allow a wide range of molecular species to be assembled atom-by-atom.