Production of ultracold ground-state LiRb molecules by photoassociation through a resonantly coupled state

We report on a resonantly coupled 2(1)-4(1) photoassociation resonance in LiRb. This pair of states displays interesting decay physics that hint at interference-like effects caused by two different decay paths. We observe decay to predominantly X 1 + v = 43, with significant numbers of molecules produced in X 1 + v = 2−12. This photoassociation resonance also produces ∼300 X 1 + v = 0 J = 0 molecules/s. Finally, we identify a stimulated Raman adiabatic passage transfer pathway from v = 43 to v = 0 that has the potential to produce up to 2×105 LiRb molecules/s in the X 1 + v = 0 J = 0 state.