Abstract
We observe thermalization in the production of a degenerate Fermi gas of polar molecules. By measuring the atom-dimer elastic scattering cross section near the Feshbach resonance, we show that Feshbach molecules rapidly reach thermal equilibrium with both parent atomic species. Equilibrium is essentially maintained through coherent transfer to the ground state. Sub-Poissonian density fluctuations in Feshbach and ground-state molecules are measured, giving an independent characterization of degeneracy and directly probing the molecular Fermi-Dirac distribution.
- Received 30 August 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.033401
© 2020 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Collisions Key in Creating a Quantum Degenerate Gas from Molecules
Published 22 January 2020
Collisions between molecules and free atoms determine the final temperature of a dilute molecular Fermi gas.
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