Photoassociative Production and Trapping of Ultracold KRb Molecules
Photoassociative Production and Trapping of Ultracold KRb Molecules
We have produced ultracold heteronuclear KRb molecules by the process of photoassociation in a two-species magneto-optical trap. Following decay of the photoassociated KRb*, the molecules are detected using two-photon ionization and time-of-flight mass spectroscopy of KRb$^+$. A portion of the metastable triplet molecules thus formed are magnetically trapped. Photoassociative spectra …