Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonicpolar molecules 41K87Rb
K Aikawa1 , D Akamatsu2 , J Kobayashi2 , M Ueda3,4 T
Kishimoto5 , and S Inouye2,4
1 Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656,
Japan
2 Institute of Engineering Innovation, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
113-8656, Japan
3 Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033,
Japan
4 ERATO Macroscopic Quantum Control Project, JST, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656,
Japan
5 University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu 182-8585, Japan
E-mail: inouye@sogo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Abstract. We review our experimental progress toward producing quantum
degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K 87 Rb. Our primary goal is to transfer quantum
degenerate Feshbach molecules into the absolute ground state via the stimulated
Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP). We have achieved a dual-species Bose-Einsteincondensate of 41 K and 87 Rb in a magnetic trap, which consists of NK = 1.4 × 104
potassium atoms and NRb = 3.5×104 rubidium atoms. An optimum optical transition
for STIRAP is being identified by a separate experiment based on photoassociation ina dual-species magneto-optical trap of 41 K and 87 Rb.

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

2

1. Introduction
Quantum degenerate gases of polar molecules are regarded as one of the most exotic
quantum many-body systems for the anisotropic and long-range nature of dipole-dipole
interaction. Novel quantum phases such as crystal [1] and supersolid [2] are predicted fora Bose-Einstein condensate of polar molecules. The dipole-dipole interaction between
molecules in an optical lattice is expected to pave the way to simulate a spin system[3], while the controllability of the anisotropic interaction via a microwave [4] will offer
a new tool to explore physics in a quantum many-body system.
To achieve quantum degenerate polar molecules, many approaches have beendevised and implemented [5]. Recently, significant advances have been made in the“indirect approach”, which is based on associating ultracold atoms to form ultracold
diatomic polar molecules. Here the process involves two steps: the first is to form looselybound molecules by photoassociation or magneto-association at a Feshbach resonance ofultracold atoms and the second is to transfer them to their lowest rovibrational level via
optical transitions such as Stimulated Emission Pumping (SEP) or Stimulated Raman
Adiabatic Passage (STIRAP) [6]. The second process is required to cope with the two
following unfavorable natures of loosely bound molecules: First, loosely bound molecules
are unstable against collisions (vibrational quenching), and second, they have a negligible
dipole moment since atoms in the molecule are well separated. Thus, transferring looselybound molecules into the absolute ground state is crucially important.
This two-step scheme was originally demonstrated at Yale for laser-cooled 85 Rb
and 133 Cs atoms to form ultracold 85 Rb133 Cs molecules in their absolute ground state[7]. In this pioneering work, a combination of photoassociation and SEP was employed.
However, a further quest for atomic cooling and improvement in the transfer efficiency
is needed for realizing quantum degeneracy with polar molecules.
Here we employ an alternative strategy that combines magneto-association at a
Feshbach resonance and STIRAP. Magneto-association can transfer atoms into a single
molecular level at nearly 100% efficiency. STIRAP realizes a conversion efficiency of
100% since it uses a two-photon dark state where population between two molecularstates can be controlled by the relative intensity of two lasers. Moreover, there are noheating processes in these steps. Thus, this combination should enable us to convert
quantum degenerate atoms to quantum degenerate polar molecules. Intensive efforts toobtain quantum degenerate molecules in this scheme have been made for bosonic Rb2[8] and Cs2 [9] molecules at Innsbruck and for fermionic 40 K87 Rb molecules at JILA [10].
We are aiming at achieving a Bose-Einstein condensate of polar molecules. To
produce bosonic polar molecules from atoms, there are two possible choices forconstituent atoms, i.e., two fermionic species or two bosonic species. Choosing two
fermionic species for constituent atoms has an advantage in that Feshbach molecules are
expected to have a long lifetime due to the Pauli exclusion principle. There are not many
combinations of atomic species left for this approach because (a) it is natural to choose
an alkali-alkali combination to make use of a magnetically tuned Feshbach resonance,

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

3

and (b) known stable fermionic alkali species are only 6 Li and 40 K. The possibility toperform efficient STIRAP for LiK is yet to be explored, since the knowledge of themolecular potentials of LiK is currently limited. An experiment in this approach is now
ongoing in Munich [11].
In contrast, there are several possible combinations for choosing two bosonicspecies. Molecular potentials of both ground states and excited states are already wellknown for some of the combinations. Among others, 41 K87 Rb has an advantage thatFeshbach resonances have been reported at low magnetic fields [12] and all the associatedscattering lengths (aRb ,aK ,aKRb ) are positive [13]. In addition, a high photoassociation
rate of KRb [14] enables us to explore molecular potentials using photoassociatedmolecules. A drawback of using two bosonic species is that Feshbach molecules tend
to have a short lifetime because there is no suppression of collisions [15]. This problem
can be circumvented by putting atoms in an optical lattice before applying magnetoassociation [16]. We note that a combination of 87 Rb and 133 Cs is yet another attractive
possibility since molecular potentials in the excited states have been investigated indetail [17] and many Feshbach resonances have been reported [18].
Here we report our progress toward achieving a quantum degenerate gas of 41 K87 Rb
molecules based on magneto-association and STIRAP. Our efforts involve the productionof a mixture of 41 K and 87 Rb Bose-Einstein condensate and the search for an optimum
intermediate state for STIRAP via spectroscopy of 41 K87 Rb molecules.
In the following sections, Section 2 discusses important parameters that set
the ultimate efficiency for magneto-association and STIRAP. Section 3 describes our
experimental setup to obtain a double-species Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K and
87
Rb. Section 4 presents our spectroscopic studies on photoassociated KRb molecules.
Section 5 summarizes the obtained results and discusses future prospects.
2. Key issues in the experimental design
STIRAP is expected to acheive 100% transfer efficiency when the whole populationis held in a dark state. However, the efficiency is decreased when the dark state is
perturbed. The efficiency of a STIRAP transfer at a two-photon resonance is given by[19]
P = exp(−

π 2 Γ Dτ
−
)
Ω20 τ
2

(1)

where Γ is the natural linewidth of the excited state, τ is the pulse duration, D is the
linewidth associated with the frequency difference between
the two lasers, and Ω0 isq
2
the reduced Rabi frequency, which is defined as Ω0 = ΩP + Ω2S , where ΩP (ΩS ) is thepeak Rabi frequency of the pump (Stokes) field [20]. Here the first term describes the
reduction in efficiency due to diabatic processes, while the second term describes thelimitation due to decoherence. From equation (1), we can derive a necessary condition

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

4

for an efficient transfer:
Ω20
1
À
ÀD
π2Γ
τ

(2)

Thus, reducing the linewidth D helps reduce the intensity required for a successfultransfer.
The Rabi frequency in equation (2) depends on the Franck-Condon factor, which
is a measure of the wavefunction overlap between the ground and excited states:Ω2P (S) = d2 EP2 (S) |he|gP (S) i|2(3)

Here d is a transition dipole moment, EP (S) is an electric field of the pump (Stokes) laserand |he|gP (S) i|2 is a Franck-Condon factor between an excited state and a loosely boundlevel (the lowest rovibrational level). We assume that the transition dipole moment does
not depend on the internuclear distance. To achieve a high transfer efficiency, one must
identify a transition with a large Franck-Condon factor. Thus, it becomes imperative
to perform a molecular spectroscopy to find the details of interatomic potential.
Now let us examine if one can satisfy condition (2) in the actual experiment usingparameters for 41 K87 Rb. The differential frequency of two independent lasers can bestabilized to within D ∼ 2π · 10 kHz by locking them to a stable high-finesse cavity. To
satisfy the condition of D and τ in (2), a pulse duration should be τ ∼ 1µs. The time
variation of laser intensity on the order of 1µs is easily achieved by an acousto-opticalmodulator (AOM). The condition of Ω0 , Γ and τ in (2) then gives a limitation on the
Rabi frequency:Ω20
À 107 s−1Γ(4)

For the KRb molecule, the (3)1 Σ+ is a good candidate for the intermediate state as
explained in section 4. This state has a transition dipole moment of ∼ 1ea0 [21], whichcorresponds to a natural linewidth of ∼ 2π · 500 kHz. The Franck-Condon factors
between this state and the ground state are on the order of 10−2 [22]. Substituting
these values into the inequality (4), we obtain a required Rabi frequency Ω0 ∼ 2π · 3
MHz and a required intensity I ∼ 600 mW/cm2 . Since the typical size of a Bose-Einsteincondensate is less than 100µm, the power necessary for an efficient transfer is less than
100µW which is easily obtained by using a semiconductor laser.
Another key issue that affects the efficiency of STIRAP is the closed-channel
fraction of Feshbach molecules, which contributes dominantly to the Franck-Condon
factor. In general, the closed-channel fraction of Feshbach molecules away from theresonance is larger than that close to the resonance. However, the absolute amount of
the closed-channel fraction depends strongly on the width (or the coupling strength)of the resonance [23]: molecules formed at a broad resonance are strongly perturbed
by an atomic channel even away from the resonance, while those formed at a narrow
resonance are dominated by the closed channel except very near the resonance. Thus, it
is beneficial for us to use a narrow Feshbach resonance for the preparation of moleculesToward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

5with a large Franck-Condon factor. However, there is a drawback for using closedchannel dominated molecules: they can easily decay via vibrational quenching due toa large wavefunction overlap with low-lying molecular levels. To avoid this problem,
atoms should be loaded into an optical lattice before they are converted to molecules.
To date, two Feshbach resonances have been reported for 41 K87 Rb at 35 G witha width of 37 G and at 79 G with a width of 1.2 G [12, 13]. Apparently the former
is a broad resonance while the latter is a narrow resonance. In fact, coupled channel
calculations indicate that a closed-channel fraction of Feshbach molecules formed at
the 79 G resonance exceeds 90% below 70 G [22]. Based on the above discussions, weconclude that the resonance at 79 G is appropriate for the preparation of molecules witha large closed-channel fraction.
3. Double-species Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K and 87 Rb
3.1. Experimental setup
Our experimental apparatus for the production of a Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K and87
Rb is based on a double MOT system. A two-stage differential pumping was employed
to realize a high vapor pressure (∼ 10−8 Torr) for both potassium and rubidium andan ultra-high vacuum of 3 × 10−11 Torr. The first cell contained home-made enriched
41
K dispensers and commercial Rb dispensers. The cell was kept at 50 ◦ C in order toincrease the loading efficiency of potassium. For evaporative cooling of both potassium
and rubidium atoms, the cloverleaf trap with a magnetic field gradient of 292 G/cm
and a curvature of 67 G/cm2 was constructed around the second cell. Typically 109 41 K
atoms and 109 87 Rb atoms were simultaneously collected in a MOT in the first cell andcontinuously pushed to the second cell by resonant laser beams. The pushing laser forpotassium was resonant with the F = 1 to F 0 = 2 transition while that for rubidium
was resonant with the F = 2 to F 0 = 3 transition. The pushed atoms had a velocity ofaround 20 m/s and were captured again by the MOT in the second cell. The loading
efficiency of the second MOT depends on the diameter and intensity of both cooling andrepumping beams of the second MOT. For potassium, a loading rate of 3 × 108 atoms/s
was obtained at an e−2 beam diameter of around 20 mm and a total intensity of around
50 mW/cm2 .
3.2. Production of a 41 K Bose-Einstein condensate
Bose-Einstein condensation of 41 K atoms was first realized by sympathetic cooling withrubidium atoms [24]. After that, we reported the successful production of a BoseEinstein condensate of 41 K with a large number of atoms by means of direct evaporative
cooling [25]. Here we briefly describe two key issues for achieving a Bose-Einsteincondensate of 41 K without sympathetic cooling.
The first issue is the complexity in laser cooling of 41 K. It originates from the factthat the hyperfine splitting between F 0 = 3 and F 0 = 2 in the 43 P3/2 state is as small

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb
(b)

(c)

2.0
(arb. units)

Integrated OD

(a)

6

1.0

0.0

Figure 1. Realization of Bose-Einstein condensation of 41 K atoms by direct
evaporation in a magnetic trap[25]. Absorption images of 41 K atoms after 40 ms
expansion show (a) a thermal cloud at T=750 nK, (b) a bimodal distribution at T=580
nK, and (c) an almost pure condensate of 3 × 105 atoms. The evaporative cooling was
performed by driving rf-transition between hyperfine levels of 41 K atoms. No coolant
was involved in the experiment.

as 13.6 MHz. This is on the same order as the natural linewidth of this excited state(6.2MHz). Thus, it is practically impossible to form a closed transition for laser coolingsince off-resonance excitations to nearby levels such as F 0 = 2 and F 0 = 1 are notnegligible. To cope with this problem, we have prepared almost the same amount oflaser power for both cooling and repumping beams and detuned both lights below thewhole hyperfine manifold by about 20 MHz [26]. Although this configuration enabled us
to trap a large number of atoms, it led to a high temperature of around 5 mK and a low
density of around 1 × 1010 cm−3 . Obtained phase-space density at this stage was around10−9 . By introducing additional stages for spatial compression and Doppler cooling [27],we were able to reach a phase-space density of 10−6 , which was a good starting point
for evaporative cooling.
The second key issue is the necessity of using the hyperfine transition for evaporative
cooling. We could not obtain a Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K atoms by driving
transitions between Zeeman sublevels. This was presumably because the rate constantsof inelastic processes involving atoms in the F = 2, mF = 1 state [28, 29] were higher for41
K than for 87 Rb. We confined atoms in the F = 2, mF = 2 state in a magnetic trap
and performed evaporative cooling by driving the hyperfine transition to the F = 1,
mF = 1 state. Typical frequencies needed for evaporation were less than 400 MHz,
since the hyperfine splitting of 41 K atoms in the ground state is only 254 MHz. By

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

K

41

7

Rb

87

100 µmFigure 2. Images of dual Bose-Einstein condensates of 41 K and 87 Rb atoms after 20
ms of expansion. The evaporative cooling was performed by driving the F = 2, mF = 2
to F = 1, mF = 1 transition for the 87 Rb atom. 41 K atoms were sympathetically cooled
as in [24]. The number of atoms in these images were 3.5 × 104 and 1.4 × 104 for Rb
and K atoms, respectively.

evaporating atoms in the F = 2, mF = 2 state while constantly removing atoms in the
F = 2, mF = 1 state, it was possible to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation as shownin Figure 1 [25]. The typical number of atoms in a pure condensate was 3 × 105 .
3.3. Quantum degenerate mixture of 41 K and 87 Rb
We have also succeeded in producing a quantum degenerate mixture of 41 K and 87 Rb in
a magnetic trap. We first loaded almost the same number of 41 K and 87 Rb atoms into amagnetic trap and performed evaporative cooling of both 41 K and 87 Rb atoms by driving
the F = 2, mF = 2 to F = 1, mF = 1 transition simultaneously. However, we observed
significant losses of atoms for both species. Thus, we switched to sympathetic coolingof 41 K by 87 Rb [24]. So far, we have succeeded in achieving a dual-species Bose-Einsteincondensate with up to 1.4 × 104 atoms for 41 K and 3.5 × 104 atoms for 87 Rb (Fig.2).
4. Spectroscopy toward STIRAP
4.1. Selecting the optimum path for STIRAPThe optimum state for STIRAP should have large Franck-Condon factors with both
weakly bound levels and the lowest rovibrational level. To understand which state canbe used as an intermediate state, knowledge of the excited states of molecules is required.
Here we briefly explain the excited states of alkali diatomic molecules with electronic
orbital angular momentum L of 1. There are extensive spectroscopic data for thesestates that facilitate our spectroscopy. Since an alkali dimer has a total spin S = 0(singlet) or S = 1 (triplet), there are four excited states labeled as 1 Σ+ , 1 Π, 3 Σ+ and 3 Πin Hund’s case (a). Figure 3 shows the calculated potential energy curves of the groundand excited states of KRb molecule in Hund’s case (a) [30]. In Hund’s case (c), theseToward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

30x10

8

+

3

KRb potential

Energy [cm ]

20
-1

1 +

(4) Σ

Ionization
(1) Π
1

1 +

(3) Σ

K(4P)+Rb(5S)
K(4S)+Rb(5P)

10

3 +

(2) Σ
(1) Π

1 +

(2) Σ

Photoassociation3

Depletion
3 +

aΣ

0

1 +

XΣ

2

4

6
8
10
Internuclear separation [A]12

Figure 3. ab initio potential energy curves of KRb [30]. Here only potentials related
to our experiments are shown. Singlet and triplet potentials are indicated by blue andred curves, respectively.

states are coupled by the spin-orbit interaction to yield four components: Ω = 0+ (1 Σ+and 3 Π), 0− (3 Σ+ and 3 Π), 1(1 Π, 3 Σ+ and 3 Π) and 2(3 Π) where Ω is a projection of
→
−
−
→ →
−
total angular momentum J = L + S .
The Franck-Condon factor depends not only on the spatial overlap but also on thespin component of the wavefunction. Since a Feshbach molecule has both spin triplet
and singlet components, there are two possible paths to transfer it to the absolute groundstate: (a) Feshbach molecule (triplet component) → intermediate state (spin-mixed) →the absolute ground state (singlet) or (b) Feshbach molecule (singlet component) →intermediate state (singlet) → the absolute ground state (singlet).
The first scheme uses a spin-mixing due to the spin-orbit interaction in theintermediate state. This scheme was first pointed out for the Ω = 1 manifold consistingof (1)1 Π, (2)3 Σ+ and (1)3 Π [17] and demonstrated for RbCs [7] and for 40 K87 Rb [10].
In this scheme, the (2)3 Σ+ state couples to the loosely bound molecules, whereas the(1)1 Π state couples to the lowest rovibrational level.
In contrast, in the second scheme we can focus on a spin singlet state with large
spatial overlaps of the wavefunctions. In fact, the experiment for Cs2 at Innsbruck has
been performed based on this scheme [31]. For the case of KRb it was pointed out that

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

9Channeltron

Photoassociation laser (795.5nm)
Depletion laser (850-880nm)
Pulse laser(604.2nm)

MOT lasers ( 6)

Figure 4. Schematic of the experimental setup used for the depletion spectroscopyof ultracold 41 K87 Rb molecules. 41 K and 87 Rb atoms were cooled and trapped
simultaneously in a MOT. The photoassociation laser was applied for 10 ms to form
loosely bound X 1 Σ+ and a3 Σ+ molecules, whereas the depletion laser was always
turned on. Molecules in a specific vibrational level of the X 1 Σ+ state were ionized byan intense pulse laser and detected with a Channeltron ion detector.

the (3)1 Σ+ state has favorable wavefunction overlaps both with loosely bound levels andthe lowest level [32].
We are currently pursuing the second scheme using the (3)1 Σ+ state. The (3)1 Σ+
state has a purely singlet character; it can potentially couple with states dissociating
to the K(4P )+Rb(5S) limit, but they are so far away from the (3)1 Σ+ state that the
spin-orbit coupling between them is negligible. The accurate potential energy curveof the (3)1 Σ+ state has been known in a frequency range from 9778 cm−1 (potential
minimum) to 10 412 cm−1 by means of conventional spectroscopy of 39 K85 Rb molecules[33, 34]. Since the best candidate for the intermediate state for STIRAP lies between
11 400 cm−1 and 11 800 cm−1 , the potential in this region has to be more precisely
determined.
4.2. Experimental setup
For spectroscopic studies, we prepared another experimental apparatus that can produce
loosely bound molecules via photoassociation of laser-cooled 41 K and 87 Rb atoms
following a similar experiment by the University of Connecticut group [32]. This setup
enables us to take a spectrum over a wide range of frequencies at a rate of 10 Hz which
is much faster than taking a spectrum with Feshbach molecules. Figure 4 shows our
experimental setup for spectroscopy of loosely bound 41 K87 Rb molecules. First, 1×108 K
and 2 × 108 Rb atoms were cooled and trapped in a double-species MOT. Compressed
MOT (C-MOT) was applied for both clouds to cool and compress further to obtain

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

10number densities of 2 × 1011 cm−3 for K and 4 × 1011 cm−3 for Rb and temperatures of
400 µK for K and 100 µK for Rb. Both K and Rb atoms were prepared in their lower
hyperfine states F = 1 during the C-MOT process. Then, a photoassociation laser withan intensity of 8.5 W/cm2 irradiated K and Rb atoms for 10 ms to form ground state
molecules [35]. The frequency of the photoassociation laser was usually fixed to around
12 570.134 cm−1 , exciting the J = 1 level of the Ω = 0+ state. A tunable CW Ti:S laser
with an intensity of 13 W/cm2 was simultaneously applied to molecules to deplete thepopulation in a specific rovibrational level. Resultant molecules were detected with aChanneltron (Burle 4869) after they were ionized via resonance-enhanced multi-photon
ionization (REMPI) induced by a pulsed dye laser with an intensity of 3 × 106 W/cm2 .
Signals from the Channeltron were amplified with a homemade pre-amplifier [36] andsent to a high-speed digitizer (National Instruments PCI-5112) to count the number ofmolecules. Scanning the frequency of the Ti:S laser yielded a depletion spectrum thatcan resolve rotational structures of both ground and excited states.
The levels used for the two-photon ionization are indicated in Figure 3. Molecules
were first excited to the v 00 = 43 level of the (4)1 Σ+ state [37] and then were immediately
excited to the ionization level. By selecting an appropriate wavelength for the ionizing
pulse laser, we were able to monitor molecules in a specific vibrational level though therotational structure could not be resolved due to a broad linewidth of the pulse laser(∼ 0.1 cm−1 ). We often used molecules in the v 00 = 91, J = 2 level of the X 1 Σ+ state forspectroscopy of the excited state as they were the most abundant. The binding energyof this level was determined to be -12.454(1) cm−1 relative to the FK = 1 + FRb = 1
threshold by comparing a depletion spectrum and a photoassociation spectrum for thesame state.
4.3. Spectroscopy of the (3)1 Σ+ state
Before taking a depletion spectrum, we performed a spectroscopy of the (3)1 Σ+ stateswith a pulse laser as a rough guide in a frequency range from 11 340 cm−1 to 11 740 cm−1 ,where conventional spectroscopic studies have not been reported. Since the infrared
photon does not have enough energy to ionize molecules via a two-photon transition, we
simultaneously applied an additional 532nm pulse laser derived from a pump laser forthe pulsed dye laser. In this scheme, molecules were first excited by the infrared laser
and immediately ionized by the green laser. To suppress a three-photon transition with
the infrared laser and a two-photon transition with the green laser, we had to keep theintensity of the infrared and green lasers below 5 × 105 and 1 × 105 W/cm2 , respectively.
Based on the obtained spectrum, we performed depletion spectroscopy for the (3)1 Σ+
state. A typical spectrum for the v 00 = 48 level of the (3)1 Σ+ state is shown in Figure 5.
The narrow width of the spectrum (∼ 100 MHz) enabled us to locate absolute energy
levels of the excited state with much higher accuracy than using an ab initio potential,
which typically has an error of the order of 10 cm−1 (∼ 300 GHz).
To understand the observed spectrum, we need to consider the selection rule forToward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

11]stinu.bra[ stnuoc noi )19=''v( bRK

30

25

¬

J'=1

20

15

¬

J'=1

J''=0

¬

J''=2

J'=3

J''=2

10

5

+

0
11689.711689.811689.9

Depletion frequency [cm11690.0-1]

Figure 5. A depletion spectrum showing rotational structures of cold molecules. The
spectrum was obtained by scanning the depletion laser while monitoring molecular ion
counts. Each dip corresponds to a resonant excitation of molecules in the monitoredlevel. Since we used the J = 1 rotational level for photoassociation, subsequent decays
yielded ground state molecules in the J 00 = 0 and J 00 = 2 levels based on a selection
rule ∆J = ±1 The same selection rule also holds for an excitation from X 1 Σ+ to1(3) Σ+ states. Thus, three transitions were observed for a single upper vibrational
level, namely, the J 0 = 3 ← J 00 = 2, J 0 = 1 ← J 00 = 2 and J 0 = 1 ← J 00 = 0.

rotational levels, i.e., ∆J = ±1 [38]. Spontaneous decays from the photoassociationlevel of J = 1 yield the ground state molecules of J = 0 and J = 2. Molecules in
J = 0 can only be excited to J = 1 of the (3)1 Σ+ state, whereas those in J = 2 can be
excited to J = 1 and J = 3 of the (3)1 Σ+ state. Thus, we obtain three transitions asshown in Figure 5. From this spectrum, rotational constants of the v 00 = 91 level of the
X 1 Σ+ state and the v 00 = 48 level of the (3)1 Σ+ states were determined to be 0.00763(8)cm−1 and 0.02017(1) cm−1 , respectively. The measured constant of the X 1 Σ+ state wasin good agreement with that calculated from the experimentally determined accurate
potential for the ground state [39] within the experimental error. We compared themeasured constant of the (3)1 Σ+ state with that obtained from the ab initio potential[30] and found that the ab initio potential gave a larger value by an amount of about
1%. This deviation has already been reported in [32] and should be attributed to theinaccuracy of the ab initio potential. We observed similar spectra for ten vibrational
levels (v 00 = 41 to v 00 = 50) that were used to construct an accurate potential thatcan explain the measured energy levels and rotational constants [40]. Based on thispotential, we conclude that the optimum intermediate state lies around the v 00 = 42level, which has Franck-Condon factors of around 10−2 with both the loosely boundlevel and the lowest rovibrational level [22].

Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

12

5. Conclusion
In this paper, we first discussed key issues in the experimental design toward quantum
degenerate polar molecules. Then, first experimental results toward the realization ofa Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K87 Rb molecules were reported. A dual-species BoseEinstein condensate of 41 K and 87 Rb was realized by evaporative cooling of rubidium
atoms and sympathetic cooling of potassium atoms. Excited states of KRb molecules
were studied using depletion spectroscopy and photoassociation. We plan to load adual-species Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K and 87 Rb into an optical lattice to form
Feshbach molecules. A STIRAP transfer of loosely bound molecules will be studied
using photoassociated 41 K87 Rb molecules. Finally, a STIRAP transfer will be applied
to Feshbach molecules to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate of 41 K87 Rb molecules in
the absolute ground state. The list of physics we would like to pursue with quantum
degenerate polar molecules includes resonant features in collisions [41], the stability ofthe molecule [42], and the supersolid phase [2].
We acknowledge fruitful discussions with P. Naidon. K.A. and D.A. acknowledge
support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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Toward production of quantum degenerate bosonic polar molecules 41 K87 Rb

13[28] Desruelle B et al 1999 Phys. Rev. A 60 R1759[29] Hadzibabic Z et al 2003 Phys. Rev. Lett. 91 160401[30] Rousseau S, Allouche A R, Aubert-Frecon M 2000 J. Mol. Spectrosc. 203 235[31] Danzl JG et al 2008 arXiv:0811.2374[32] Wang D et al 2007 Phys. Rev. A 75 032511[33] Amiot C, Verges J, d’Incan J, Effantin C 1999 Chem. Phys. Lett. 315 55[34] Amiot C, Verges J, d’Incan J, Effantin C 2000 Chem. Phys. Lett. 318 289[35] Typical 1/e2 beam diameter was 0.7 mm, which was nearly the same as the size of the MOT.
[36] Flaxer E 2006 Meas. Sci. and Technol. 17 N37[37] The numbering given here has an uncertainty of a few quanta since the potential minimum of the(4)1 Σ+ state has not yet been identified. This assignment of the vibrational number is based on
the work on 39 K 85 Rb by D. Wang 2007 Ph. D thesis.
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