Magnetic Deflection of High-Spin Sodium Dimers Formed on Helium Nanodroplets

Spectroscopic data on alkali-atom dimers residing on the surface of liquid helium nanodroplets have revealed that they are detected primarily in the weakly bound, metastable, spin-triplet state. Here, by measuring the magnetic Stern-Gerlach deflection of a sodium-doped nanodroplet beam, we transparently demonstrate the abundance of high-magnetic-moment dimers. Their electron spins thermalize with the cryogenic superfluid droplets and become fully oriented by the external magnetic field.