We present an asymptotic-bound-state model which can be used to accurately describe all Feshbach resonance positions and widths in a two-body system. With this model we determine the coupled bound states of a particular two-body system. The model is based on analytic properties of the two-body Hamiltonian and on asymptotic properties of uncoupled bound states in the interaction potentials. In its most simple version, the only necessary parameters are the least bound state energies and actual potentials are not used. The complexity of the model can be stepwise increased by introducing threshold effects, multiple vibrational levels, and additional potential parameters. The model is extensively tested on the $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$-$^{40}\mathrm{K}$ system and additional calculations on the $^{40}\mathrm{K}$-$^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ system are presented.
We present an asymptotic-bound-state model which can be used to accurately describe all Feshbach resonance positions and widths in a two-body system. With this model we determine the coupled bound states of a particular two-body system. The model is based on analytic properties of the two-body Hamiltonian and on asymptotic properties of uncoupled bound states in the interaction potentials. In its most simple version, the only necessary parameters are the least bound state energies and actual potentials are not used. The complexity of the model can be stepwise increased by introducing threshold effects, multiple vibrational levels, and additional potential parameters. The model is extensively tested on the 6Li-40K system and additional calculations on the 40K-87Rb system are presented.
eshbach resonances play a central role in the manipulation of the interparticle interaction in ultracold atomic gases. The Asymptotic Bound-state Model (ABM) [1,2] is a powerful and easy-to-use tool to predict properties of these Feshbach resonances. This model exploits the fact that only the least bound states in the interaction potential determine the low energy interaction properties. These bound states are coupled by hyperfine and Zeeman interactions, and the intersection of these coupled bound states with the scattering threshold determine the position of these Feshbach resonances. The high accuracy of this model was clearly demonstrated when assigning 13 resonances in the 6Li-40K mixture by using only two bound state parameters [1]. Here we discuss the extension of the ABM by the including threshold effects, which allow for the prediction of the resonance width as well.
We present an Asymptotic Bound state Model (ABM), which is useful to predict Feshbach resonances. The model utilizes asymptotic properties of the interaction potentials to represent coupled molecular wavefunctions. The bound states of this system give rise to Feshbach resonances, localized at the magnetic fields of intersection of these bound states with the scattering threshold. This model was very successful to assign measured Feshbach resonances in an ultra cold mixture of ^6Li and ^40K atomsootnotetextE. Wille, F.M. Spiegelhalder, G. Kerner, D. Naik, A. Trenkwalder, G. Hendl, F. Schreck, R. Grimm, T.G. Tiecke, J.T.M. Walraven, S.J.J.M.F. Kokkelmans, E. Tiesinga, P.S. Julienne, arXiv:0711.2916. For this system, the accuracy of the determined scattering lengths is comparable to full coupled channels results. However, it was not possible to predict the width of the resonances. We discuss how an incorporation of threshold effects will improve the model, and we apply it to a mixture of ^87Rb and ^133Cs atoms, where recently Feshbach resonances have been measured.
The susceptibility of ultracold gases to precise manipulation via external fields makes them ideal systems to study fundamental quantum mechanical phenomena. Various regimes, which are not possible to reach in condensed matter or nuclear physics, can be probed with these quantum gases. Especially the tunability of the interactions and confining potentials make that these ultracold gases offer unique possibilities to explore and study universal behavior. The tunability of the dominant two-body interactions in dilute ultracold atomic gases stems from the presence of Feshbach resonances. Via these resonances pairs of ultracold atoms can be associated to form ultracold molecules. In fact, measurements of Feshbach resonance positions can be used to reveal part of the underlying molecular structure. Vica versa, accurate molecular Born-Oppenheimer potentials can be used as input for full numerical coupled-channels calculations to reliably predict Feshbach resonances. For most of the heteronuclear mixtures currently studied however, the relevant molecular potentials are not accurate enough. As the coupled-channels method is often too elaborate and too time consuming to be used to fit the measured data to enable the construction of more accurate potentials, a need for accurate models which complement this established method is created. In this thesis we have developed a simplified model for resonant scattering of two ultracold atoms which fulfills this need. The asymptotic bound-state model (ABM) is a hierarchical model which can be systematically increased in complexity and accuracy. In its most simple form, the ABM only needs two parameters to predict the position and strength of Feshbach resonances: Two binding energies corresponding to the least bound state of the two molecular potentials involved. We demonstrate that this model, although it is solely based on bound states, can incorporate threshold effects. Additionally, the model can be extended to include: Multiple vibrational levels, overlapping resonances, and magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. This versatile model allows for a description of Feshbach resonances in a large variety of systems without accurate knowledge of the relevant molecular Born-Oppenheimer potentials. Being computationally light, the ABM can be used to analyze measurements of Feshbach resonances and hereby expose the basic underlying molecular structure. Additionally, the ABM is well suited to map out all available Feshbach resonances in a system. This ability is particularly useful when an optimal resonance is required for a certain experiment. For the 6Li-40K mixture we have utilized this ability to experimentally observe a strong Feshbach resonance which offers promising perspectives to reach the strongly interacting universal regime in a mass-imbalanced Fermi gas. By analyzing the various inelastic decay processes and the accuracy of the ab initio Born-Oppenheimer potentials, we predict a strong resonance in a mixture of metastable bosonic and fermionic helium atoms. For the homonuclear (bosonic as well as fermionic) helium gas we do not find strong resonances. For an ultracold gas of 40K atoms, an elaborate combined theoretical and experimental effort is presented to map out the Feshbach resonance structure. On the experimental side we observed 36 Feshbach resonances, 31 of which where observed for the first time. These observations are in excellent agreement with coupled-channels calculations which use unmodified Born-Oppenheimer potentials as input. On the theoretical side, we present a comparison between different simplified models of resonance scattering and the full numerical coupled-channels calculations. We have developed the resonant state model (RSM) to describe the resonant scattering of two ultracold atoms. This model is founded on resonant states, the natural (eigen) frequencies of the two-body system, and their non-trivial properties. Threshold effects are implicitly build into the RSM. The RSM can describe the effect of the continuum of scattering states, states which are neglected in the ABM, on the position and strength of a Feshbach resonance by only a few resonant states. Especially when a low-energy resonance is embedded in the continuum of scattering states, the effect of these states on the Feshbach resonance cannot be neglected. The RSM can be viewed as the natural generalization of the ABM. As the RSM can be based on just a few resonant states, it retains the computational simplicity of the ABM. Using the tunability of two-body interactions induced by a Feshbach resonance, we describe a crossover for a rotating Fermi gas between two strongly-correlated many-body states. We demonstrate that the correlation induced long-range interaction will shift the crossover with respect to the non-rotating case.
We study the influence of a single Feshbach resonance on the near-threshold bound and continuum states in interatomic potentials with attractive tails. We present an energy-independent parametrization of the Feshbach resonance to reveal its influence on the bound state spectrum as well as on the scattering properties. The applicability of this parametrization is confirmed by comparison with numerical coupled-channel calculations. A formula for the scattering length is derived, which---in contrast to previous parametrizations---transparently exposes the dependence on the characteristic quantities of the uncoupled channels and on channel-coupling effects and is valid for all deep potentials falling off faster than $\ensuremath{-}1/{r}^{3}$ asymptotically.
We present a two-channel model to describe the quantum state of two atoms with finite-range interaction near a Feshbach resonance. This model provides a simple picture to analytically derive the wave function and the binding energy of the molecular bound state. The results agree excellently with the measurements and multichannel calculations. For small binding energies, the system enters a threshold regime in which the Feshbach molecules are identical to long range atom pairs in single channel. According to their threshold behavior, we find Feshbach resonances can be classified into two types.
We discuss the stability of homonuclear and heteronuclear mixtures of 3He and 4He atoms in the metastable 23S1 state (He∗) and predict positions and widths of Feshbach resonances by using the asymptotic-bound-state model. All calculations are performed without fit parameters, using ab initio calculations of molecular potentials. One promising very broad Feshbach resonance ($\ensuremath{\Delta}B={72.9}_{\ensuremath{-}19.3}^{+18.3}$ mT) is found that allows for tuning of the interisotope scattering length.