Photoassociation in a quantum degenerate gas of lithium-7

Abstract

An experiment studying the effects of photoassociation in a quantum degenerate gas of 7Li bosons has been performed in a permanent magnet trap. A saturation in the one-photon photoassociation rate and a shift in the resonance due to the applied light field from the 2S 1/2 ground state to the 2P1/2 v ' = 83 excited molecular vibrational state have been measured and compared with theory. Limitations in the ability of the permanent magnet apparatus to study photoassociation in a Bose-Einstein condensate have prompted the development of a magneto-optical trap and an electro-magnetic trap. These new traps will assist in the process of creating a large BEC where the effects of photoassociation will be studied.