Efficient creation of molecules from a cesium Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

We report a new scheme to create weakly bound Cs$_2$ molecules from an atomic\nBose-Einstein condensate. The method is based on switching the magnetic field\nto a narrow Feshbach resonance and yields a high atom-molecule conversion\nefficiency of more than 30%, a factor of three higher than obtained with\nconventional magnetic-field ramps. The Cs$_2$ molecules are created in a single\n$g$-wave rotational quantum state. The observed dependence of the conversion\nefficiency on the magnetic field and atom density shows scattering processes\nbeyond two-body coupling to occur in the vicinity of the Feshbach resonance.\n