We report the observation of interspecies Feshbach resonances in an optically trapped mixture of $^{85}$Rb and $^{133}$Cs. We measure 14 interspecies features in the lowest spin channels for a magnetic field range from 0 to 700 G and show that they a
re in good agreement with coupled-channel calculations. The interspecies background scattering length is close to zero over a large range of magnetic fields, permitting the sensitive detection of Feshbach resonances through interspecies thermalisation. Our results confirm the quality of the Rb-Cs potential curves and offer promising starting points for the production of ultracold polar molecules.
The design and performance of a compact heated vapor cell unit for realizing a dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) for the D2 transitions in atomic rubidium is described. A 5 cm-long vapor cell is placed in a double-solenoid arrangement to produ
ce the required magnetic field; the heat from the solenoid is used to increase the vapor pressure and correspondingly the DAVLL signal. We have characterized experimentally the dependence of important features of the DAVLL signal on magnetic field and cell temperature. For the weaker transitions both the amplitude and gradient of the signal are increased by an order of magnitude.
