Formation of ultracold heteronuclear dimers in electric fields

¹  Instituto “Carlos I” de Física Teórica y Computacional and Departamento de Física Atómica Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad de Granada - E-18071 Granada, Spain
²  Theoretische Chemie, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg - Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
³  Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg - Philosophenweg 12, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany

Corresponding author: rogonzal@ugr.es

Received: 15 March 2007
Accepted: 24 April 2007

Abstract

The formation of ultracold molecules via stimulated emission followed by a radiative de-excitation cascade in the presence of a static electric field is investigated. By analyzing the corresponding cross-sections, we demonstrate the possibility to populate the lowest rotational excitations via photoassociation. The modification of the radiative cascade due to the electric field leads to narrow rotational state distributions in the vibrational ground state. External fields might therefore represent an additional valuable tool towards the ultimate goal of quantum state preparation of molecules.