Control of Optical Transitions with Magnetic Fields in Weakly Bound Molecules

Abstract

In weakly bound diatomic molecules, energy levels are closely spaced and thus more susceptible to mixing by magnetic fields than in the constituent atoms. We use this effect to control the strengths of forbidden optical transitions in ${}^{88}$Sr${}_2$ over 5 orders of magnitude with modest fields by taking advantage of the intercombination-line threshold. The physics behind this remarkable tunability is accurately explained with both a simple model and quantum chemistry calculations, and suggests new possibilities for molecular clocks. We show how mixed quantization in an optical lattice can simplify molecular spectroscopy. Furthermore, our observation of formerly inaccessible $f$-parity excited states offers an avenue for improving theoretical models of divalent-atom dimers.

8 pages, 4 figures

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• Optical lattice clocks with weakly bound molecules
• Ultracold ${}^{88}{\mathrm{Sr}}_2$ molecules in the absolute ground state
• Precise measurements of optical Feshbach resonances of ${}^{174}$Yb atoms
• Control of Ultracold Photodissociation with Magnetic Fields
• Combining Slater-type orbitals and effective core potentials
• Transition moments between excited electronic states from the Hermitian formulation of the coupled cluster quadratic response function
• Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Crossover from the Ultracold to the Quasiclassical Regime of Photodissociation
• High-intensity two-frequency photoassociation spectroscopy of a weakly bound molecular state: theory and experiment
• Ab initio electronic structure of the Sr${}_2^{+}$ molecular ion