Spectroscopic detection of the LiHe molecule

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Apr 12;110(15):153201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.153201. Epub 2013 Apr 8.

Abstract

We use cryogenic helium buffer-gas cooling to form large densities of lithium atoms in a high-density helium gas, from which LiHe molecules form by three-body recombination. These weakly bound van der Waals molecules are detected spectroscopically, and their binding energy is measured from their equilibrium thermodynamic properties.