Triplet ground state NaLi molecules*

The ability to produce ultracold gases of heteronuclear molecules in well-defined internal states has opened a wide range of opportunities in the study of chemical reactions, many-body physics, and quantum information science. The lightest bialkali, NaLi, offers unique advantages in the study of ultracold chemistry due to its predicted long collisional lifetime in the triplet ground state, allowing magnetic trapping and the possibility of resolved scattering resonances. We have observed the triplet ground state through two-photon spectroscopy. We report on progress toward larger molecular samples via STIRAP from loosely bound molecules, for which we are investigating approaches based on Feshbach association and multi-stage photoassociation.