Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2102.01805 · New Journal of Physics

Observation of collectivity enhanced magnetoassociation of 6Li in the quantum degenerate regime

Vineetha Naniyil, Yijia Zhou, Guy Simmonds, Nathan Cooper, Weibin Li, Lucia Hackermüller

Published Nov 1, 2022• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract The association process of Feshbach molecules is well described by a Landau–Zener (LZ) transition above the Fermi temperature, such that two-body physics dominates the dynamics. However, using 6Li atoms and the associated Feshbach resonance at B r = 834.1 G, we observe an enhancement of the atom–molecule coupling as the fermionic atoms reach degeneracy, demonstrating the importance of many-body coherence not captured by the conventional LZ model. In the experiment, we apply a linear association ramp ranging from adiabatic to non-equilibrium molecule association for various temperatures. We develop a theoretical model that explains the temperature dependence of the atom–molecule coupling. Furthermore, we characterize this dependence experimentally and extract the atom–molecule coupling coefficient as a function of temperature, finding qualitative agreement between our model and experimental results. In addition, we simulate the dynamics of molecular association during a nonlinear field ramp. We find that, in the non-equilibrium regime, molecular association efficiency can be enhanced by sweeping the magnetic field cubically with time. Accurate measurement of the atom–molecule coupling coefficient is important for both theoretical and experimental studies of molecular association and many-body collective dynamics.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ac9b81

Related papers

Enhanced magnetoassociation of $^6$Li in the quantum degenerate regime

Vineetha Naniyil, Yijia Zhou, Guy Simmonds +3 more

We study magnetic Feshbach resonance of ultracold $^6$Li atoms in a dipole trap close to quantum degeneracy. The experiment is carried out by linearly ramping down the magnetic field from the BCS to the BEC side around the broad resonance at $B_r=834.1$G. The Feshbach molecule formation efficiency depends strongly on the temperature of the atomic gas and the rate at which the magnetic field is ramped across the Feshbach resonance. The molecular association process is well described by the Landau-Zener transition while above the Fermi temperature, such that two-body physics dominates the dynamics. However, we observe an enhancement of the atom-molecule coupling as the Fermionic atoms reach degeneracy, demonstrating the importance of many-body coherence not captured by the conventional Landau-Zener model. We develop a theoretical model that explains the temperature dependence of the atom-molecule coupling. Furthermore, we characterize this dependence experimentally and extract the atom-molecule coupling coefficient as a function of temperature, finding qualitative agreement between our model and experimental results. Accurate measurement of this coupling coefficient is important for both theoretical and experimental studies of atom-molecule association dynamics.

•Feb 3, 2021•0 citations

Adiabatic association of ultracold molecules via magnetic-field tunable interactions

Krzysztof Góral, Thorsten Köhler, S. A. Gardiner +2 more

We consider in detail the situation of applying a time-dependent external magnetic field to a 87 Rb atomic Bose–Einstein condensate held in a harmonic trap, in order to adiabatically sweep the interatomic interactions across a Feshbach resonance to produce diatomic molecules. To this end, we introduce a minimal two-body Hamiltonian depending on just five measurable parameters of a Feshbach resonance, which accurately determines all low-energy binary scattering observables, in particular, the molecular conversion efficiency of just two atoms. Based on this description of the microscopic collision phenomena, we use the many-body theory of Köhler and Burnett (2002 Phys. Rev. A 65 033601) to study the efficiency of the association of molecules in a 87 Rb Bose–Einstein condensate during a linear passage of the magnetic-field strength across the 100 mT Feshbach resonance. We explore different, experimentally accessible, parameter regimes, and compare the predictions of Landau–Zener, configuration interaction, and two-level mean-field calculations with those of the microscopic many-body approach. Our comparative studies reveal a remarkable insensitivity of the molecular conversion efficiency with respect to both the details of the microscopic binary collision physics and the coherent nature of the Bose–Einstein condensed gas, provided that the magnetic-field strength is varied linearly. We provide the reasons for this universality of the molecular production achieved by linear ramps of the magnetic-field strength, and identify the Landau–Zener coefficient determined by Mies et al (2000 Phys. Rev. A 61 022721) as the main parameter that controls the efficiency.

arXiv:cond-mat/0312178•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Aug 24, 2004•102 citations

Many-body effects on adiabatic passage through Feshbach resonances

Igor Tikhonenkov, E. Pazy, Y. B. Band +2 more

We theoretically study the dynamics of an adiabatic sweep through a Feshbach resonance, thereby converting a degenerate quantum gas of fermionic atoms into a degenerate quantum gas of bosonic dimers. Our analysis relies on a zero temperature mean-field theory which accurately accounts for initial molecular quantum fluctuations, triggering the association process. The structure of the resulting semiclassical phase space is investigated, highlighting the dynamical instability of the system towards association, for sufficiently small detuning from resonance. It is shown that this instability significantly modifies the finite-rate efficiency of the sweep, transforming the single-pair exponential Landau-Zener behavior of the remnant fraction of atoms $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ on sweep rate $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, into a power-law dependence as the number of atoms increases. The obtained nonadiabaticity is determined from the interplay of characteristic time scales for the motion of adiabatic eigenstates and for fast periodic motion around them. Critical slowing-down of these precessions near the instability leads to the power-law dependence. A linear power law $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{\propto}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ is obtained when the initial molecular fraction is smaller than the $1∕N$ quantum fluctuations, and a cubic-root power law $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{1∕3}$ is attained when it is larger. Our mean-field analysis is confirmed by exact calculations, using Fock-space expansions. Finally, we fit experimental low temperature Feshbach sweep data with a power-law dependence. While the agreement with the experimental data is well within experimental error bars, similar accuracy can be obtained with an exponential fit, making additional data highly desirable.

arXiv:cond-mat/0605506•Physical Review A•Apr 11, 2006•56 citations

An interacting Fermi-Fermi mixture at the crossover of a narrow Feshbach resonance

L. Costa

This work describes experiments with quantum-degenerate atomic mixtures at ultracold temperatures, where quantum statistics determine macroscopic system properties. The first heteronuclear molecules at ultracold temperatures are formed in a quantum degenerate two-species Fermi-Fermi mixture on the repulsive side of a narrow s-wave Feshbach resonance. Elastic collisions in this mixture are investigated with the method of cross-dimensional relaxation. Long-lived two-body bound states on the atomic side of the resonance are detected due to a many-body effect at the crossover of the narrow Feshbach resonance. In addition, atom scattering with fermionic 40K on a light field grating in the Bragg and Kapitza-Dirac regimes is realized for the first time. The versatile experimental platform, where the investigations are done, offers the possibility to perform studies on mixtures involving the bosonic species 87Rb and the two fermionic species 6Li and 40K. Within this work, mainly interactions between the two fermionic species are considered. A quantum-degenerate mixture of 6Li and 40K can be used to create heteronuclear bosonic molecules close to an interspecies s-wave Feshbach resonance. By an adiabatic magnetic field sweep, up to 4 × 10^4 molecules are produced with conversion efficiencies close to 50%. A direct and sensitive molecule detection method is developed to probe molecule properties. The lifetime of the molecules in an atom-molecule mixture exhibits a strong magnetic field dependence. Close to resonance, lifetimes of more than 100ms are observed what offers excellent starting conditions for further investigation and manipulation of the molecular cloud. The interspecies Feshbach resonance, which serves for the production of molecules, is further characterized. The method of cross-dimensional relaxation is applied for the first time to a Fermi-Fermi mixture. For this method, a non-equilibrium state is created, which rethermalizes by pure interspecies collisions due to the fermionic nature of the two species. The lighter atomic species, 6Li, relaxes faster in the mixture than the heavier one, 40K. This is verified by an analytical model, Monte-Carlo simulations, and measurements. With this technique, elastic scattering cross sections are measured over a wide range of magnetic field strengths across the Feshbach resonance. The position (B0 = 154.71(5)G) and the magnetic field width of the Feshbach resonance (Delta = 1.02(7)G) are determined. By comparison of the several measurements, long-lived bound states exist on the atomic side of the resonance due to a many-body effect in the crossover regime of the resonance. In addition, atomic scattering with ultracold 40K on a light field crystal is studied for the first time. The light grating is generated by two counter-propagating laser beams. Suitable pulse parameters for the realization of atom scattering in the Bragg and Kapitza-Dirac regime are found. The momentum spread of the cloud determines the efficiency of the scattering process, which is increased by lowering the temperature of the system.

•Jan 1, 2011•1 citation

Many-body effects on nonadiabatic Feshbach conversion in bosonic systems

Jie Liu, Bin Liu, Libin Fu

We investigate the dynamics of converting cold bosonic atoms to molecules when an external magnetic field is swept across a Feshbach resonance. Our analysis relies on a quantum microscopic model that accounts for many-body effects in the association process. We show that the picture of two-body molecular production depicted by the Landau-Zener model is significantly altered due to many-body effects. In the nonadiabatic regime, we derive an analytic expression for molecular conversion efficiency that explains the discrepancy between the prediction of the Landau-Zener formula and the experimental data [E. Hodby et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 120402 (2005)]. Our theory is further extended to the formation of heteronuclear diatomic molecules and gives some interesting predictions.

arXiv:0712.4191•Physical Review A•Jul 16, 2008•30 citations

Strong-coupling regime of the nonlinear landau-zener problem for photo- and magnetoassociation of cold atoms

Ruzan Sokhoyan, H. H. Azizbekyan, Claude Leroy +1 more

We discuss the strong-coupling regime of the nonlinear Landau-Zener problem occurring at coherent photo- and magneto-association of ultracold atoms. We apply a variational approach to an exact third-order nonlinear differential equation for the molecular state probability and construct an accurate approximation describing the time dynamics of the coupled atom-molecule system. The resultant solution improves the accuracy of the previous approximation [22]. The obtained results reveal a remarkable observation that in the strong-coupling limit, the resonance crossing is mostly governed by the nonlinearity, while the coherent atom-molecule oscillations occurring soon after crossing the resonance are principally of a linear nature. This observation is supposedly general for all nonlinear quantum systems having the same generic quadratic nonlinearity, due to the basic attributes of the resonance crossing processes in such systems. The constructed approximation turns out to have a larger applicability range than it was initially expected, covering the whole moderate-coupling regime for which the proposed solution accurately describes ail the main characteristics of the system evolution except the amplitude of the coherent atom-molecule oscillation, which is rather overestimated.

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics•Apr 1, 2011•0 citations
Abstract The association process of Feshbach molecules is well described by a Landau–Zener (LZ) transition above the Fermi temperature, such that two-body physics dominates the dynamics. However, using 6Li atoms and the associated Feshbach resonance at B r = 834.1 G, we observe an enhancement of the atom–molecule coupling as the fermionic atoms reach degeneracy, demonstrating the importance of many-body coherence not captured by the conventional LZ model. In the experiment, we apply a linear association ramp ranging from adiabatic to non-equilibrium molecule association for various temperatures. We develop a theoretical model that explains the temperature dependence of the atom–molecule coupling. Furthermore, we characterize this dependence experimentally and extract the atom–molecule coupling coefficient as a function of temperature, finding qualitative agreement between our model and experimental results. In addition, we simulate the dynamics of molecular association during a nonlinear field ramp. We find that, in the non-equilibrium regime, molecular association efficiency can be enhanced by sweeping the magnetic field cubically with time. Accurate measurement of the atom–molecule coupling coefficient is important for both theoretical and experimental studies of molecular association and many-body collective dynamics.
Enhanced magnetoassociation of 6^66Li in the quantum degenerate regime
We study magnetic Feshbach resonance of ultracold 6^66Li atoms in a dipole trap close to quantum degeneracy. The experiment is carried out by linearly ramping down the magnetic field from the BCS to the BEC side around the broad resonance at Br=834.1B_r=834.1Br​=834.1G. The Feshbach molecule formation efficiency depends strongly on the temperature of the atomic gas and the rate at which the magnetic field is ramped across the Feshbach resonance. The molecular association process is well described by the Landau-Zener transition while above the Fermi temperature, such that two-body physics dominates the dynamics. However, we observe an enhancement of the atom-molecule coupling as the Fermionic atoms reach degeneracy, demonstrating the importance of many-body coherence not captured by the conventional Landau-Zener model. We develop a theoretical model that explains the temperature dependence of the atom-molecule coupling. Furthermore, we characterize this dependence experimentally and extract the atom-molecule coupling coefficient as a function of temperature, finding qualitative agreement between our model and experimental results. Accurate measurement of this coupling coefficient is important for both theoretical and experimental studies of atom-molecule association dynamics.
We consider in detail the situation of applying a time-dependent external magnetic field to a 87 Rb atomic Bose–Einstein condensate held in a harmonic trap, in order to adiabatically sweep the interatomic interactions across a Feshbach resonance to produce diatomic molecules. To this end, we introduce a minimal two-body Hamiltonian depending on just five measurable parameters of a Feshbach resonance, which accurately determines all low-energy binary scattering observables, in particular, the molecular conversion efficiency of just two atoms. Based on this description of the microscopic collision phenomena, we use the many-body theory of Köhler and Burnett (2002 Phys. Rev. A 65 033601) to study the efficiency of the association of molecules in a 87 Rb Bose–Einstein condensate during a linear passage of the magnetic-field strength across the 100 mT Feshbach resonance. We explore different, experimentally accessible, parameter regimes, and compare the predictions of Landau–Zener, configuration interaction, and two-level mean-field calculations with those of the microscopic many-body approach. Our comparative studies reveal a remarkable insensitivity of the molecular conversion efficiency with respect to both the details of the microscopic binary collision physics and the coherent nature of the Bose–Einstein condensed gas, provided that the magnetic-field strength is varied linearly. We provide the reasons for this universality of the molecular production achieved by linear ramps of the magnetic-field strength, and identify the Landau–Zener coefficient determined by Mies et al (2000 Phys. Rev. A 61 022721) as the main parameter that controls the efficiency.
We theoretically study the dynamics of an adiabatic sweep through a Feshbach resonance, thereby converting a degenerate quantum gas of fermionic atoms into a degenerate quantum gas of bosonic dimers. Our analysis relies on a zero temperature mean-field theory which accurately accounts for initial molecular quantum fluctuations, triggering the association process. The structure of the resulting semiclassical phase space is investigated, highlighting the dynamical instability of the system towards association, for sufficiently small detuning from resonance. It is shown that this instability significantly modifies the finite-rate efficiency of the sweep, transforming the single-pair exponential Landau-Zener behavior of the remnant fraction of atoms $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ on sweep rate $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, into a power-law dependence as the number of atoms increases. The obtained nonadiabaticity is determined from the interplay of characteristic time scales for the motion of adiabatic eigenstates and for fast periodic motion around them. Critical slowing-down of these precessions near the instability leads to the power-law dependence. A linear power law $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{\propto}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ is obtained when the initial molecular fraction is smaller than the 1∕N1∕N1∕N quantum fluctuations, and a cubic-root power law $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{1∕3}$ is attained when it is larger. Our mean-field analysis is confirmed by exact calculations, using Fock-space expansions. Finally, we fit experimental low temperature Feshbach sweep data with a power-law dependence. While the agreement with the experimental data is well within experimental error bars, similar accuracy can be obtained with an exponential fit, making additional data highly desirable.
This work describes experiments with quantum-degenerate atomic mixtures at ultracold temperatures, where quantum statistics determine macroscopic system properties. The first heteronuclear molecules at ultracold temperatures are formed in a quantum degenerate two-species Fermi-Fermi mixture on the repulsive side of a narrow s-wave Feshbach resonance. Elastic collisions in this mixture are investigated with the method of cross-dimensional relaxation. Long-lived two-body bound states on the atomic side of the resonance are detected due to a many-body effect at the crossover of the narrow Feshbach resonance. In addition, atom scattering with fermionic 40K on a light field grating in the Bragg and Kapitza-Dirac regimes is realized for the first time. The versatile experimental platform, where the investigations are done, offers the possibility to perform studies on mixtures involving the bosonic species 87Rb and the two fermionic species 6Li and 40K. Within this work, mainly interactions between the two fermionic species are considered. A quantum-degenerate mixture of 6Li and 40K can be used to create heteronuclear bosonic molecules close to an interspecies s-wave Feshbach resonance. By an adiabatic magnetic field sweep, up to 4 × 10^4 molecules are produced with conversion efficiencies close to 50%. A direct and sensitive molecule detection method is developed to probe molecule properties. The lifetime of the molecules in an atom-molecule mixture exhibits a strong magnetic field dependence. Close to resonance, lifetimes of more than 100ms are observed what offers excellent starting conditions for further investigation and manipulation of the molecular cloud. The interspecies Feshbach resonance, which serves for the production of molecules, is further characterized. The method of cross-dimensional relaxation is applied for the first time to a Fermi-Fermi mixture. For this method, a non-equilibrium state is created, which rethermalizes by pure interspecies collisions due to the fermionic nature of the two species. The lighter atomic species, 6Li, relaxes faster in the mixture than the heavier one, 40K. This is verified by an analytical model, Monte-Carlo simulations, and measurements. With this technique, elastic scattering cross sections are measured over a wide range of magnetic field strengths across the Feshbach resonance. The position (B0 = 154.71(5)G) and the magnetic field width of the Feshbach resonance (Delta = 1.02(7)G) are determined. By comparison of the several measurements, long-lived bound states exist on the atomic side of the resonance due to a many-body effect in the crossover regime of the resonance. In addition, atomic scattering with ultracold 40K on a light field crystal is studied for the first time. The light grating is generated by two counter-propagating laser beams. Suitable pulse parameters for the realization of atom scattering in the Bragg and Kapitza-Dirac regime are found. The momentum spread of the cloud determines the efficiency of the scattering process, which is increased by lowering the temperature of the system.
We investigate the dynamics of converting cold bosonic atoms to molecules when an external magnetic field is swept across a Feshbach resonance. Our analysis relies on a quantum microscopic model that accounts for many-body effects in the association process. We show that the picture of two-body molecular production depicted by the Landau-Zener model is significantly altered due to many-body effects. In the nonadiabatic regime, we derive an analytic expression for molecular conversion efficiency that explains the discrepancy between the prediction of the Landau-Zener formula and the experimental data [E. Hodby et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 120402 (2005)]. Our theory is further extended to the formation of heteronuclear diatomic molecules and gives some interesting predictions.
We discuss the strong-coupling regime of the nonlinear Landau-Zener problem occurring at coherent photo- and magneto-association of ultracold atoms. We apply a variational approach to an exact third-order nonlinear differential equation for the molecular state probability and construct an accurate approximation describing the time dynamics of the coupled atom-molecule system. The resultant solution improves the accuracy of the previous approximation [22]. The obtained results reveal a remarkable observation that in the strong-coupling limit, the resonance crossing is mostly governed by the nonlinearity, while the coherent atom-molecule oscillations occurring soon after crossing the resonance are principally of a linear nature. This observation is supposedly general for all nonlinear quantum systems having the same generic quadratic nonlinearity, due to the basic attributes of the resonance crossing processes in such systems. The constructed approximation turns out to have a larger applicability range than it was initially expected, covering the whole moderate-coupling regime for which the proposed solution accurately describes ail the main characteristics of the system evolution except the amplitude of the coherent atom-molecule oscillation, which is rather overestimated.