All-optical formation of molecules with spin degree of freedom in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

We have performed a two-photon photoassociation experiment in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb with the spin degree of freedom, which is created by an all-optical method with CO2 lasers. The spinor character of the created molecules has been revealed by the photoassociation spectrum with a new structure. The hyperfine structure of the created molecules near the dissociation limit is identified by observations of the Zeeman and AC-Stark effects of the molecules. We have also demonstrated the spin-selective creation of molecules. This result would open the new possibility of research on novel molecular spinor BEC.