High light intensity photoassociation in a Bose-Einstein condensate

TL;DR

This paper theoretically examines how high light intensities affect molecule formation and atom loss in photoassociation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, revealing saturation effects and the importance of pair correlations.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of molecular yield behavior at high light intensities in BEC photoassociation, highlighting the saturation of molecule formation rate.

Findings

Molecular formation rate saturates at high light intensities.

Atom loss rate continues to increase with light intensity.

Short and long range pair correlations influence the process.

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the molecular yield in photoassociation of Bose-Einstein condensed sodium atoms for light intensities of the order of and above those applied in a recent experiment. Our results show that the rate at which ground state molecules may be formed saturates at high light intensities whereas the loss rate of condensate atoms does not. This is caused by the opposing roles of the short and long range pair correlations present near resonance under the influence of the laser and is crucial for the development of efficient photoassociation procedures in a condensate.