All Optical Scheme for Strongly Enhanced Production of Dipolar Molecules in the Electro-Vibrational Ground State

Abstract

We consider two-color heteronuclear photoassociation of atoms into dipolar molecules in the J=1 electro-vibrational ground state, where a free-ground laser couples atoms directly to the ground state and a free-bound laser couples the atoms to an electronically-excited state. This problem raises an interest because heteronuclear photoassociation from atoms to near-ground state molecules is limited by the small size of the target state. Nevertheless, the addition of the excited state creates a second pathway for creating ground state molecules, leading to quantum interference between direct photoassociation and photoassociation via the excited molecular state, as well as a dispersive-like shift of the free-ground resonance position. Using LiNa as an example, these results are shown to depend on the detuning and intensity of the free-bound laser, as well as the semi-classical size of both molecular states. Despite strong enhancement, coherent conversion to the LiNa electro-vibrational ground state is possible only in a limited regime near the free-bound resonance.