High-resolution photoassociation spectroscopy of ultracold ytterbium atoms by using the intercombination transition.

We observed high-resolution photoassociation spectra of laser-cooled ytterbium (Yb) atoms in the spin-forbidden 1S0 - 3P1 intercombination line. The rovibrational levels in the 0u+ state were measured for red detunings of the photoassociation laser ranging from 2.9 MHz to 1.97 GHz with respect to the atomic resonance. The rotational splitting of the vibrational levels near the dissociation limit were fully resolved due to the sub-MHz linewidth of the spectra in contrast to previous measurements using the spin-allowed singlet transition. In addition, from a comparison between the spectra of 174Yb and those of 176Yb, a d-wave shape resonance for 174Yb is strongly suggested.