Stimulated Raman molecule production in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Summary form only given. We have created state-selected /sup 87/Rb/sub 2/ molecules at rest in a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate of /sup 87/Rb atoms with coherent free-bound stimulated Raman transitions. The transition lineshape exhibits a resonance lineshape with an extremely narrow width as small as 1.5 kHz. As a result, we are able to measure the molecular binding energy with an unprecedented precision of 1.2 kHz. We find that this lineshape is sensitive to elastic interactions between the molecules and the atomic Bose-condensate, and as a result, we are able to measure an atom-molecule scattering length for the first time. In addition, we are able to set an upper bound on the rate constant for inelastic collisions between the molecules and the atoms. This is the first measurement of molecule-condensate interactions, and is an important step towards the application of this method to the formation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate.