Creation of ultracold heteronuclear p-wave Feshbach molecules

Abstract

We report the first creation of a bulk sample of ultracold heteronuclear p-wave Feshbach molecules in an optically trapped Bose-Bose mixture of 23Na and 87Rb atoms. Using loss spectroscopy and binding energy measurements, we systematically characterize the interspecies p-wave Feshbach resonances near 284 G. Leveraging this understanding, we use magneto-association to form p-wave NaRb Feshbach molecules, producing both pure samples and mixtures of molecules in different p-wave orbitals. We further measure the molecular lifetime and identify atom-molecule and molecule-molecule collisions as the dominant loss mechanisms. This work establishes a previously unavailable ultracold molecule platform that combines orbital anisotropy with heteronuclear constituents, represents a significant step toward realizing tunable p-wave interactions in Bose-Bose mixtures, and provides a foundation for exploring non-zero angular momentum molecules.