  The formation of molecules and supramolecular structures results from bonding
by conservative forces acting among electrons and nuclei and giving rise to
equilibrium configurations defined by minima of the interaction potential. Here
we show that bonding can also occur by the non-conservative forces responsible
for interaction-induced coherent population trapping. The bound state arises in
a dissipative process and manifests itself as a stationary state at a
preordained interatomic distance. Remarkably, such a dissipative bonding is
present even when the interactions among the atoms are purely repulsive. The
dissipative bound states can be created and studied spectroscopically in
present-day experiments with ultracold atoms or molecules and can potentially
serve for cooling strongly interacting quantum gases.
