Ultracold Rubidium Molecules

This thesis describes experiments with ultracold diatomic molecules associated from ultracold 87Rb atoms using magnetically-induced scattering resonances (Feshbach resonances). The association method is based on a slow magnetic-field ramp across a Feshbach resonance which converts an atom pair into a bound molecule. The reaction is reversible and coherent and no latent heat is released. A Bose-Einstein condensate serves as a source of ultracold atoms. In one of the experiments reported here, the association technique is used to create a quantum state with exactly one molecule at each site of a three-dimensional optical lattice. This state opens up interesting possibilities with respect to quantum simulations and quantum information processing.