Production of NaCa${}^{+}$ molecular ions in the ground state from cold atom-ion mixtures by photoassociation via an intermediate state

Abstract

We present a theoretical analysis of optical pathways for formation of cold Ca(${}^1$S)Na${}^{+}$(${}^1$S) molecular ions via an intermediate state. The formation schemes are based on ab initio potential energy curves and transition dipole moments calculated using effective-core-potential methods of quantum chemistry. In the proposed approach, starting from a mixture of cold trapped Ca${}^{+}$ ions immersed into an ultracold gas of Na atoms, (NaCa)${}^{+}$ molecular ions are photoassociated in the excited E${}^1{\Sigma }^{+}$ electronic state and allowed to spontaneously decay either to the ground electronic state or an intermediate state from which the population is transferred to the ground state via an additional optical excitation. By analyzing all possible pathways, we find that the efficiency of a two-photon scheme, via either B${}^1{\Sigma }^{+}$ or C${}^1{\Sigma }^{+}$ potential, is sufficient to produce significant quantities of ground state (NaCa)${}^{+}$ molecular ions. A single-step process results in lower formation rates that would require either a high density sample or a very intense photoassociation laser to be viable.

13 pages, 15 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. A

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Cited by in corpus (10)

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• Interactions and chemical reactions in ionic alkali-metal and alkaline-earth-metal diatomic $A{B}^{+}$ and triatomic $A_2{B}^{+}$ systems
• Cold chemistry: a few-body perspective on impurity physics of a single ion in an ultracold bath
• Three-body recombination in physical chemistry
• Ab initio electronic structure and prospects for the formation of ultracold calcium--alkali-metal-atom molecular ions
• Signature of the $s$-wave regime high above ultralow temperatures
• Photoassociation of ultracold long-range polyatomic molecules
• Charge transfer in ultracold gases via Feshbach resonances
• Interactions and charge transfer dynamics of an Al${}^{+}$ ion immersed in ultracold Rb and Sr atoms
• Fermi polaron in atom-ion hybrid systems