The three-body problem with short-range interactions

H.‐W. Hammer, Thomas Mehen

Dmitry S. Petrov

We discuss three-body processes in ultracold two-component Fermi gases with short-range intercomponent interaction characterized by a large and positive scattering length a. It is found that in most cases the probability of three-body recombination is a universal function of the mass ratio and a, and is independent of short-range physics. We also calculate the scattering length corresponding to the atom-dimer interaction.

Rutgers University

Shangguo Zhu, Shina Tan

The low-energy scattering of three bosons or distinguishable particles with short-range interactions is characterized by a fundamental parameter, the three-body scattering hypervolume. Its imaginary part is directly related to the three-body recombination rate in a quantum gas consisting of such particles. We derive an analytical formula of it for weak interactions, and perform its first numerical calculations for bosons with a variable nonzero-range potential. For attractive interactions, we identify several three-body resonances at which the three-body scattering hypervolume becomes divergent or anomalously large.

Jean-Louis Basdevant, Jean Dalibard

V. S. Buslaev, S. B. Levin, Pekka Neittaanmäki +1 more

Basing on analogy between the three-body scattering problem and the diffraction problem of the plane wave (for the case of the short range pair potentials) by the system of six half transparent screens, we presented a new approach to the few-body scattering problem. The numerical results have been obtained for the case of the short range nonnegative pair potentials. The presented method allows a natural generalization to the case of the long range pair potentials.