Observation of cold ground-state cesium molecules produced in a magneto-optical trap

Abstract

We have observed translationally cold electronic ground-state cesium dimers produced directly in a magneto-optical trap and also by photoassociation of cold atoms in this trap. These neutral molecules were detected using photoionization and time-of-flight spectroscopy. Initial experiments indicated a cold molecular formation rate of about $600{\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1},$ with no photoassociation laser present. The measured translational temperature of the neutral cesium dimers was approximately 100 \ensuremath{\mu}K.