Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy of an ultracold gas

Abstract

Femtosecond coherent multidimensional spectroscopy is demonstrated for an ultracold gas.  A setup for phase modulation spectroscopy is used to probe the 32S1/2–22P1/2,3/2 transition in an 800 μ K-cold sample of 7Li atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap. The observation of a double quantum coherence response, a signature of interparticle interactions, paves the way for detailed investigations of few- and many-body effects in ultracold gases using this technique. The experiment combines a frequency resolution of 3 GHz with a potential time resolution of 200 fs, which allows for high-resolution studies of ultracold atoms and molecules both in the frequency and in the time domain.