Cavity-controlled formation of ultracold molecules

Abstract

Ultracold ground-state molecules can be formed from ultracold atoms via photoassociation followed by a spontaneous emission process. Typically, the molecular products are distributed over a range of final states. Here, we propose to use an optical cavity with high cooperativity to selectively enhance the population of a pre-determined final state by controlling the spontaneous emission. During this process, a photon will be emitted into the cavity mode. Detection of this photon heralds a single reaction. We discuss the efficiency and the dynamics of cavity-assisted molecule formation in the frame of realistic parameters that can be achieved in current ultracold-atom setups. In particular, we consider the production of Rb _2 molecules in the a ^3 Σ _u triplet ground state. Moreover, when working with more than two atoms in the cavity, collective enhancement effects in chemistry should be observable.

Keywords

• cavity quantum electrodynamics
• ultracold molecules
• photoassociation
• chemical reactions
• ultracold atoms
• Dicke superradiance