Anisotropic Polarizability of Ultracold Ground-state ${}^{23}$Na${}^{87}$Rb Molecules

Abstract

We report measurements of the ac polarizabilities of ultracold ground-state ${}^{23}{\mathrm{Na}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ molecules. While the polarizability of the ground rotational state $J=0$ is isotropic, that of the first excited rotational state $J=1$ is anisotropic and depends strongly on the light polarization angle. We obtain both polarizabilities precisely by combining trap oscillation frequency measurement and high resolution rotational spectroscopy driven by microwave. With the optimized light polarization angle and intensity combination, the nonuniformity of the differential ac Stark shift between the two rotational states is minimized and the rotational coherence time is observed to be the longest.

6 pages, 5 figures