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arXiv:1201.2396 · Physical Review Letters

Association of Efimov Trimers from a Three-Atom Continuum

Olga Machtey, Zav Shotan, Noam Gross, Lev Khaykovich

Published May 25, 2012• 83 citations
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Abstract

We develop an experimental technique for rf association of Efimov trimers from a three-atom continuum. We apply it to probe the lowest accessible Efimov energy level in bosonic lithium in the region where strong deviations from the universal behavior are expected, and provide a quantitative study of this effect. The position of the Efimov resonance at the atom-dimer threshold, measured using a different experimental technique, concurs with the rf association results.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.108.210406

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We develop an experimental technique for rf association of Efimov trimers from a three-atom continuum. We apply it to probe the lowest accessible Efimov energy level in bosonic lithium in the region where strong deviations from the universal behavior are expected, and provide a quantitative study of this effect. The position of the Efimov resonance at the atom-dimer threshold, measured using a different experimental technique, concurs with the rf association results.
We present a theoretical analysis of rf association of Efimov trimers in a two-component Bose gas with short-range interactions. Using the adiabatic hyperspherical formalism to solve the quantum three-body problem, we obtain universal expressions for three-body rf association rates as a function of the sss-wave scattering length a>0a>0a>0. We find that the association rates scale as ${a}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ in the limit of large aaa, and diverge as a3aad3{a}^{3}{a}_{ad}^{3}a3aad3​ whenever an Efimov state crosses the atom-dimer threshold (where aad{a}_{ad}aad​ stands for the atom-dimer scattering length). Our calculations show that trimer formation rates as large as $\ensuremath{\sim}101010{}^{\ensuremath{-}21}$ cm6{}^{6}6/s can be achieved with rf Rabi frequencies on the order of 1 MHz, suggesting that direct rf association is a powerful tool for making and probing few-body quantum states in ultracold atomic gases.
The Efimov effect, with its ladder of weakly bound three-atomic molecules, poses intriguing questions in the theoretically controversial and experimentally demanding regime of merging of the first excited Efimov energy level with the atom-dimer continuum. Using an original experimental technique, where a coherent superposition state of diatomic and triatomic molecules is utilized, we investigate this regime and reveal a striking behavior: Instead of merging with the atom-dimer continuum the trimer energy level rebounds from it and becomes a deeper bound state again. In addition, instead of a tangential approach between the two levels we observe a rather narrow resonance, providing a new challenge and guide for few-body theories to incorporate realistic interatomic potentials.
A new narrow three-atom loss resonance associated with an Efimov trimer crossing the three-atom threshold has recently been discovered in a many-body system of ultracold 6Li^{6}\mathrm{Li}6Li atoms in the three lowest hyperfine spin states at a magnetic field near 895 G. O'Hara and coworkers have used measurements of the three-body recombination rate in this region to determine the complex three-body parameter associated with Efimov physics. Using this parameter as the input, we calculate the universal predictions for the spectrum of Efimov states and for the three-body recombination rate in the universal region above 600 G where all three scattering lengths are large. We predict an atom-dimer loss resonance at $672\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2$ G associated with an Efimov trimer disappearing through an atom-dimer threshold. We also predict an interference minimum in the three-body recombination rate at $759\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$ G where the three-spin mixture may be sufficiently stable to allow experimental study of the many-body system.
Abstract Efimov trimers are exotic three-body quantum states that emerge from the different types of three-body continua in the vicinity of two-atom Feshbach resonances. In particular, as the strength of the interaction is decreased to a critical point, an Efimov state merges into the atom-dimer threshold and eventually dissociates into an unbound atom-dimer pair. Here we explore the Efimov state in the vicinity of this critical point using coherent few-body spectroscopy in7Li atoms using a narrow two-body Feshbach resonance. Contrary to the expectation, we find that the7Li Efimov trimer does not immediately dissociate when passing the threshold, and survives as a metastable state embedded in the atom-dimer continuum. We identify this behavior with a universal phenomenon related to the emergence of a repulsive interaction in the atom-dimer channel which reshapes the three-body interactions in any system characterized by a narrow Feshbach resonance. Specifically, our results shed light on the nature of7Li Efimov states and provide a path to understand various puzzling phenomena associated with them.
This thesis reports on experiments studying the few-body physics of three distinguishable fermionic atoms with large scattering lengths. The experiments were performed with ultracold gases of fermionic 6Li atoms in three different hyperfine states. By tuning the strength of the interactions between the atoms with Feshbach resonances and measuring the rate constants for inelastic three-atom and atom-dimer collisions the intersections of two universal trimer states with the three-atom and atom-dimer continuum could be located. Subsequently, one of these Efimov states was directly observed with RF-association spectroscopy. Using this technique the binding energy of this Efimov state was measured as a function of the strength of the interparticle interactions. The experiments presented in this thesis provide a nearly complete understanding of the universal few-body physics of three-component Fermi gases of 6Li atoms. This understanding will be the foundation for future studies of the many-body physics of three-component Fermi gases.
Three interacting particles form a system which is well known for its complex physical behavior. A landmark theoretical result in few-body quantum physics is Efimov's prediction of a universal set of weakly bound trimer states appearing for three identical bosons with a resonant two-body interaction. Surprisingly, these states even exist in the absence of a corresponding two-body bound state and their precise nature is largely independent of the particular type of the two-body interaction potential. Efimov's scenario has attracted great interest in many areas of physics; an experimental test however has not been achieved. We report the observation of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold thermal gas of cesium atoms. The resonance occurs in the range of large negative two-body scattering lengths and arises from the coupling of three free atoms to an Efimov trimer. We observe its signature as a giant three-body recombination loss when the strength of the two-body interaction is varied near a Feshbach resonance. This resonance develops into a continuum resonance at non-zero collision energies, and we observe a shift of the resonance position as a function of temperature. We also report on a minimum in the recombination loss for positive scattering lengths, indicating destructive interference of decay pathways. Our results confirm central theoretical predictions of Efimov physics and represent a starting point from which to explore the universal properties of resonantly interacting few-body systems.