Collision induced losses in a dual-species magneto-optical trap of Lithium and Rubidium

We have constructed a new apparatus for simultaneous trapping and cooling of $^{\mathrm{7}}$Li and $^{\mathrm{85}}$Rb atoms in a dual species magneto-optical trap (MOT), aimed at creating ultracold polar LiRb molecules for potential applications in quantum computing. The key improvements over our previous apparatus include a time of flight mass spectrometer for imaging ions and a compact Zeeman slower for $^{\mathrm{7}}$Li. Our dual species MOT allows us to trap $\ge $ 5x10$^{\mathrm{8}} \quad^{\mathrm{7}}$Li atoms loaded from the Zeeman slower and $\ge $ 10$^{\mathrm{8}}$ $^{\mathrm{85}}$Rb atoms loaded from a dispenser. We have observed interspecies collision induced losses from the MOTs, measured the trap loss rate coefficients $\beta_{\mathrm{Li,Rb\thinspace }}$and $\beta _{\mathrm{Rb,Li\thinspace }}$and studied their dependence on the MOT parameters. We will also present results on photo-association (PA) of Rb$_{\mathrm{2}}$ molecules and report our progress towards creating ultracold LiRb molecules by PA.