Formation of Quantum-Degenerate Sodium Molecules

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Ultra-cold sodium molecules were produced from an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate by ramping an applied magnetic field across a Feshbach resonance. More than 10⁵ molecules were generated with a conversion efficiency of 4%. Using laser light resonant with an atomic transition, the remaining atoms could be selectively removed, preventing fast collisional relaxation of the molecules. Time-of-flight analysis of the pure molecular sample yielded an instantaneous phase-space density greater than 20.