Sub-natural-linewidth quantum interference features observed in photoassociation of a thermal gas

Abstract

By driving photoassociation transitions, we form electronically excited molecules $({\mathrm{Na}}_{2}^{*})$ from ultracold $(50--300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K})$ Na atoms. Using a second laser to drive transitions from the excited state to a level in the molecular ground state, we are able to split the photoassociation line and observe features with a width smaller than the natural linewidth of the excited molecular state. The quantum interference which gives rise to this effect is analogous to that which leads to electromagnetically induced transparency in three-level atomic $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ systems, but here one of the ground states is a pair of free atoms while the other is a bound molecule. The linewidth is limited primarily by the finite temperature of the atoms.