Observation of Optically Trapped Cold Cesium Molecules

Abstract

We report the first observation of optically trapped cold neutral molecules. Cesium dimers in the elect ronic ground state are produced directly in a magneto-optical trap and transferred to a dipole trap formed at the focus of a ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ laser beam ( $\lambda =10.6\mathrm{}\mu \mathrm{m}$). These neutral molecules were detected using photoionization and time-of-flight spectroscopy. Initial experiments indicate a cold molecule trap lifetime on the order of half a second.