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:2105.12940 · Physical Review A

Close-coupled model of Feshbach resonances in ultracold He*3 and He*4 atomic collisions

Timothy M. F. Hirsch, Daniel Cocks, Sean S. Hodgman

Published Sep 20, 2021• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Helium atoms in the metastable $2^{3}S_{1}$ state (${\mathrm{He}}^{*}$) have unique advantages for ultracold atomic experiments. However, there is no known accessible Feshbach resonance in ${\mathrm{He}}^{*}$ which could be used to manipulate the scattering length and hence unlock several new experimental possibilities. Previous experimental and theoretical studies for ${\mathrm{He}}^{*}$ have produced contradictory results. We aimed to resolve this discrepancy with a theoretical search for Feshbach resonances, using a close-coupled model of ${\mathrm{He}}^{*}$ collisions in the presence of an external magnetic field. Several resonances were detected and the existing literature discrepancy was resolved. Although none of the resonances identified are readily experimentally usable, an interesting non-Feshbach scattering length variation with magnetic field was observed in heteronuclear collisions, at field strengths that are experimentally accessible.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.104.033317

Related papers

Magnetic Feshbach resonances between atoms in S2 and P03 states: Mechanisms and dependence on atomic properties

Bijit Mukherjee, Matthew D. Frye, Jeremy M. Hutson

Magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances exist in ultracold collisions between atoms in $^{2}\mathrm{S}$ and ${}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{0}$ states, such as an alkali-metal atom colliding with Yb or Sr in a clock state. We investigate the mechanisms of these resonances and identify the terms in the collision Hamiltonian responsible for them. They involve indirect coupling between the open and closed channels, via intermediate channels involving atoms in ${}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{1}$ states. The resonance widths are generally proportional to the square of the magnetic field and are strongly enhanced when the magnitude of the background scattering length is large. For any given pair of atoms, the scattering length can be tuned discretely by choosing different isotopes of the ${}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{0}$ atom. For each combination of an alkali-metal atom and either Yb or Sr, we consider the prospects of finding an isotopic combination that has both a large background scattering length and resonances at a high but experimentally accessible field. We conclude that $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}+\mathrm{Yb}$, $\mathrm{Cs}+\mathrm{Yb}$, and $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}+\mathrm{Sr}$ are particularly promising combinations.

arXiv:2211.07557•Physical Review Research•Feb 13, 2023•2 citations

Feshbach resonances in ultracold Rb 85 − Rb 87 and Li 6 − Rb 87 mixtures

Z. Li, S. Singh, Timur V. Tscherbul +1 more

We present an analysis of experimentally accessible magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold heteronuclear $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ mixtures. Using recent experimental measurements of the triplet scattering lengths for $^{6}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{7}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ mixtures and Feshbach resonances for one combination of atomic states, we create model potential curves and fine-tune them to reproduce the measured resonances and to predict the location of several experimentally relevant resonances in Li-Rb collisions. To model $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ collisions, we use accurate ${\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}$ potentials obtained previously from the analysis of experiments on $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ collisions. We find resonances that occur at very low magnetic fields, below $10\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$, which may be useful for entanglement generation in optical lattices or atom chip magnetic traps.

arXiv:0807.0417•Physical Review A•Aug 29, 2008•48 citations

Magnetic Feshbach resonances in collisions of nonmagnetic closed-shell 1Σ molecules

Alisdair O. G. Wallis, Roman V. Krems

Magnetic Feshbach resonances play a central role in experimental research on atomic gases at ultracold temperatures, as they allow one to control the microscopic interactions between ultracold atoms by tuning an applied magnetic field. These resonances arise due to strong hyperfine interactions between the unpaired electron and the nuclear magnetic moment of the alkali metal atoms. A major thrust of current research is to create an ultracold gas of diatomic alkali metal molecules in the ground rovibrational state of the ground electronic ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ state. Unlike alkali metal atoms, ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ diatomic molecules have no unpaired electrons. However, the hyperfine interactions of molecules may give rise to magnetic Feshbach resonances. We use quantum scattering calculations to study the possible width of these resonances. Our results show that the widths of magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold molecule-molecule collisions for ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ molecules may exceed 1 mG, rendering such resonances experimentally detectable. We hope that this work will stimulate the experimental search of these resonances.

arXiv:1209.1418•Physical Review A•Mar 31, 2014•5 citations

Feshbach resonances in cold atomic gases

E. G. M. van Kempen

The research described in this thesis is part of an international effort with the aim of studying ultracold quantum degenerate gas samples like Bose-Einstein condensates and Fermi degenerate systems, consisting of atoms confined in magnetic or optical traps. The behavior of such samples is governed by the inter-atomic interactions and the resulting properties of the atom-atom scattering. At the relevant temperatures of 1nK to 10µK a key property is the atom-atom scattering length a. In chapter 2 a theoretical method is presented which enables one to describe the interaction and scattering of (ultra)cold atoms to unprecedented precision. It is also unparalleled in comprehensiveness: it allows the prediction of a large and varied set of experimental data for all isotopes of the same element. The method relies on the extraction from experiments of a few (phase) parameters which completely summarize the behavior of the atoms in the (ultra)cold regime. In chapter 3 the method is applied to the "workhorses" of cold-atom physics: the atomic species 85Rb and 87Rb. We extract the foregoing parameters to a very high precision from several recent high precision experiments, allowing us to predict e.g. the 87Rb spinor condensate to be ferromagnetic: a prediction for which the scattering length has to be calculated with a precision better than 1%. We also predict Feshbach resonances at experimentally accessible magnetic field strengths; resonances searched for and found by the experimental group of Rempe. In close collaboration with his group we "fine-tune" the interaction parameters found previously, by making use of only one of the observed resonances. We then obtain agreement with 42 out of the observed 43 resonance field strengths and are able to identify bound states inducing the Feshbach resonances at these locations. Chapter 4 describes the results of this research. With a thorough understanding of the rubidium interactions, we then switch to lithium which has a fermionic (6Li) and a bosonic (7Li) isotope. Both are being used in cold-atom experiments. In chapter 5 we evaluate the interaction parameters for lithium allowing us to predict magnetic field strengths for which a sample of fermionic 6Li atoms can be regarded as strongly interacting. Furthermore, a three-level method for measuring mean-field shifts, based on radio-frequency techniques, is introduced. For weak interactions we find proportionality of resonance shifts to interaction strengths. In the strongly interacting regime, however, these shifts become very small reflecting the quantum unitarity limit and many-body effects. Most interesting is the fact that in this regime the shifts are small both for large positive a and for large negative a, likely reflecting the universality of the interaction energy. In chapters 6 and 7 the interactions between lithium atoms are reinvestigated, making use of newly available experimental data and with the updated interaction parameters special attention is paid to locating field strengths at which magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances occur in the scattering of lithium atoms. In chapter 6 scattering events in a gas of (fermionic) 6Li atoms are studied. In chapter 7 we show that a consistent description of the 6Li+6Li system can be given. We discuss theoretical uncertainties for the position of the wide 6Li Feshbach resonance and present an analytic scattering model for this resonance, based on the inclusion of a field-dependent virtual open-channel state. We predict new Feshbach resonances for the 6Li-7Li system, and their importance for different types of crossover superfluidity models is discussed. Molecules created by magnetically sweeping over these resonances will have a fermionic character. One magnetic field strength is predicted at which two different fermionic molecules can be created simultaneously.

•Jan 1, 2006•1 citation

Observation of a Feshbach Resonance in Cold Atom Scattering

Daniel J. Heinzen, Ph. W. Courteille, R. S. Freeland

Due to atomic interactions, a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate acquires a self- energy proportional to the two-body scattering length a. This self-energy strongly influences the stability, formation rate, size and shape, collective excitations, and other properties of a condensate. For a given atomic species at zero magnetic field, the scattering length is fixed, and this had led to a rather limited range of interaction strengths in experiments. However, it has been predicted that a magnetically tunable Feshbach resonance could be used to strongly modify scattering lengths [1]. We have observed such a Feshbach resonance in collisions of ultracold 85Rb(f =2, mf=−2) atoms in a magnetic field B. From our measured resonance position and width, we infer that the scattering length a2,−2 for collisions of these atoms has the dispersive resonance form.

•May 3, 1998•0 citations

Magnetic Feshbach resonances in collisions of closed-shell $^1\Sigma$ molecules

Alisdair O. G. Wallis, Roman V. Krems

Magnetic Feshbach resonances play a central role in experimental research of atomic gases at ultracold temperatures, as they allow one to control the microscopic interactions between ultracold atoms by tuning an applied magnetic field. These resonances arise due to strong hyperfine interactions between the unpaired electron and the nuclear magnetic moment of the alkali metal atoms. A major thrust of current research is to create an ultracold gas of diatomic alkali-metal molecules in the ground rovibrational state of the ground electronic $^1\Sigma$ state. Unlike alkali metal atoms, $^1\Sigma$ diatomic molecules have no unpaired electrons. However, the hyperfine interactions of molecules may give rise to magnetic Feshbach resonances. We use quantum scattering calculations to study the possible width of these resonances. Our results show that the widths of magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold molecule-molecule collisions for $^1\Sigma$ molecules may exceed 1 milliGauss, rendering such resonances experimentally detectable. We hope that this work will stimulate the experimental search of these resonances.

•Sep 6, 2012•0 citations
Helium atoms in the metastable 23S12^{3}S_{1}23S1​ state (He∗{\mathrm{He}}^{*}He∗) have unique advantages for ultracold atomic experiments. However, there is no known accessible Feshbach resonance in He∗{\mathrm{He}}^{*}He∗ which could be used to manipulate the scattering length and hence unlock several new experimental possibilities. Previous experimental and theoretical studies for He∗{\mathrm{He}}^{*}He∗ have produced contradictory results. We aimed to resolve this discrepancy with a theoretical search for Feshbach resonances, using a close-coupled model of He∗{\mathrm{He}}^{*}He∗ collisions in the presence of an external magnetic field. Several resonances were detected and the existing literature discrepancy was resolved. Although none of the resonances identified are readily experimentally usable, an interesting non-Feshbach scattering length variation with magnetic field was observed in heteronuclear collisions, at field strengths that are experimentally accessible.
Magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances exist in ultracold collisions between atoms in 2S^{2}\mathrm{S}2S and 3P0{}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{0}3P0​ states, such as an alkali-metal atom colliding with Yb or Sr in a clock state. We investigate the mechanisms of these resonances and identify the terms in the collision Hamiltonian responsible for them. They involve indirect coupling between the open and closed channels, via intermediate channels involving atoms in 3P1{}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{1}3P1​ states. The resonance widths are generally proportional to the square of the magnetic field and are strongly enhanced when the magnitude of the background scattering length is large. For any given pair of atoms, the scattering length can be tuned discretely by choosing different isotopes of the 3P0{}^{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{0}3P0​ atom. For each combination of an alkali-metal atom and either Yb or Sr, we consider the prospects of finding an isotopic combination that has both a large background scattering length and resonances at a high but experimentally accessible field. We conclude that 87Rb+Yb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}+\mathrm{Yb}87Rb+Yb, Cs+Yb\mathrm{Cs}+\mathrm{Yb}Cs+Yb, and 85Rb+Sr^{85}\mathrm{Rb}+\mathrm{Sr}85Rb+Sr are particularly promising combinations.
We present an analysis of experimentally accessible magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold heteronuclear $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ mixtures. Using recent experimental measurements of the triplet scattering lengths for $^{6}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{7}\mathrm{Li}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ mixtures and Feshbach resonances for one combination of atomic states, we create model potential curves and fine-tune them to reproduce the measured resonances and to predict the location of several experimentally relevant resonances in Li-Rb collisions. To model $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ collisions, we use accurate Rb2{\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}Rb2​ potentials obtained previously from the analysis of experiments on $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ collisions. We find resonances that occur at very low magnetic fields, below 10G10\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}10G, which may be useful for entanglement generation in optical lattices or atom chip magnetic traps.
Magnetic Feshbach resonances play a central role in experimental research on atomic gases at ultracold temperatures, as they allow one to control the microscopic interactions between ultracold atoms by tuning an applied magnetic field. These resonances arise due to strong hyperfine interactions between the unpaired electron and the nuclear magnetic moment of the alkali metal atoms. A major thrust of current research is to create an ultracold gas of diatomic alkali metal molecules in the ground rovibrational state of the ground electronic ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ state. Unlike alkali metal atoms, ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ diatomic molecules have no unpaired electrons. However, the hyperfine interactions of molecules may give rise to magnetic Feshbach resonances. We use quantum scattering calculations to study the possible width of these resonances. Our results show that the widths of magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold molecule-molecule collisions for ${}^{1}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ molecules may exceed 1 mG, rendering such resonances experimentally detectable. We hope that this work will stimulate the experimental search of these resonances.
The research described in this thesis is part of an international effort with the aim of studying ultracold quantum degenerate gas samples like Bose-Einstein condensates and Fermi degenerate systems, consisting of atoms confined in magnetic or optical traps. The behavior of such samples is governed by the inter-atomic interactions and the resulting properties of the atom-atom scattering. At the relevant temperatures of 1nK to 10µK a key property is the atom-atom scattering length a. In chapter 2 a theoretical method is presented which enables one to describe the interaction and scattering of (ultra)cold atoms to unprecedented precision. It is also unparalleled in comprehensiveness: it allows the prediction of a large and varied set of experimental data for all isotopes of the same element. The method relies on the extraction from experiments of a few (phase) parameters which completely summarize the behavior of the atoms in the (ultra)cold regime. In chapter 3 the method is applied to the "workhorses" of cold-atom physics: the atomic species 85Rb and 87Rb. We extract the foregoing parameters to a very high precision from several recent high precision experiments, allowing us to predict e.g. the 87Rb spinor condensate to be ferromagnetic: a prediction for which the scattering length has to be calculated with a precision better than 1%. We also predict Feshbach resonances at experimentally accessible magnetic field strengths; resonances searched for and found by the experimental group of Rempe. In close collaboration with his group we "fine-tune" the interaction parameters found previously, by making use of only one of the observed resonances. We then obtain agreement with 42 out of the observed 43 resonance field strengths and are able to identify bound states inducing the Feshbach resonances at these locations. Chapter 4 describes the results of this research. With a thorough understanding of the rubidium interactions, we then switch to lithium which has a fermionic (6Li) and a bosonic (7Li) isotope. Both are being used in cold-atom experiments. In chapter 5 we evaluate the interaction parameters for lithium allowing us to predict magnetic field strengths for which a sample of fermionic 6Li atoms can be regarded as strongly interacting. Furthermore, a three-level method for measuring mean-field shifts, based on radio-frequency techniques, is introduced. For weak interactions we find proportionality of resonance shifts to interaction strengths. In the strongly interacting regime, however, these shifts become very small reflecting the quantum unitarity limit and many-body effects. Most interesting is the fact that in this regime the shifts are small both for large positive a and for large negative a, likely reflecting the universality of the interaction energy. In chapters 6 and 7 the interactions between lithium atoms are reinvestigated, making use of newly available experimental data and with the updated interaction parameters special attention is paid to locating field strengths at which magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances occur in the scattering of lithium atoms. In chapter 6 scattering events in a gas of (fermionic) 6Li atoms are studied. In chapter 7 we show that a consistent description of the 6Li+6Li system can be given. We discuss theoretical uncertainties for the position of the wide 6Li Feshbach resonance and present an analytic scattering model for this resonance, based on the inclusion of a field-dependent virtual open-channel state. We predict new Feshbach resonances for the 6Li-7Li system, and their importance for different types of crossover superfluidity models is discussed. Molecules created by magnetically sweeping over these resonances will have a fermionic character. One magnetic field strength is predicted at which two different fermionic molecules can be created simultaneously.
Due to atomic interactions, a dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensate acquires a self- energy proportional to the two-body scattering length a. This self-energy strongly influences the stability, formation rate, size and shape, collective excitations, and other properties of a condensate. For a given atomic species at zero magnetic field, the scattering length is fixed, and this had led to a rather limited range of interaction strengths in experiments. However, it has been predicted that a magnetically tunable Feshbach resonance could be used to strongly modify scattering lengths [1]. We have observed such a Feshbach resonance in collisions of ultracold 85Rb(f =2, mf=−2) atoms in a magnetic field B. From our measured resonance position and width, we infer that the scattering length a2,−2 for collisions of these atoms has the dispersive resonance form.
Magnetic Feshbach resonances in collisions of closed-shell 1Σ^1\Sigma1Σ molecules
Magnetic Feshbach resonances play a central role in experimental research of atomic gases at ultracold temperatures, as they allow one to control the microscopic interactions between ultracold atoms by tuning an applied magnetic field. These resonances arise due to strong hyperfine interactions between the unpaired electron and the nuclear magnetic moment of the alkali metal atoms. A major thrust of current research is to create an ultracold gas of diatomic alkali-metal molecules in the ground rovibrational state of the ground electronic 1Σ^1\Sigma1Σ state. Unlike alkali metal atoms, 1Σ^1\Sigma1Σ diatomic molecules have no unpaired electrons. However, the hyperfine interactions of molecules may give rise to magnetic Feshbach resonances. We use quantum scattering calculations to study the possible width of these resonances. Our results show that the widths of magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold molecule-molecule collisions for 1Σ^1\Sigma1Σ molecules may exceed 1 milliGauss, rendering such resonances experimentally detectable. We hope that this work will stimulate the experimental search of these resonances.