Formation of ultracold Cs2 molecules through the double-minimum Cs2 3 1Σu+ state

We present a simple model of ultracold cesium dimer formation in which the photoassociation into rovibrational levels of the double-minimum Cs2 3 1Σu+ state above its internal barrier enables spontaneous or stimulated emission into the lowest rovibrational levels of the Cs2 1(X) 1Σg+ ground electronic state. The transition dipole moment should be sufficiently large for observation of such spectral transitions. The use of the Cs2 3 1Σu+ double-minimum potential could be extended to molecular Bose-Einstein condensates in which an optical trap can be employed for trapping of both atomic and molecular species