Energy spectrum of a harmonically trapped two-atom system with spin–orbit coupling
Qingze Guan, Xiangyu Yin, Seyed Ebrahim Gharashi +1 more
Ultracold atomic gases provide a novel platform with which to study spin–orbit coupling, a mechanism that plays a central role in the nuclear shell model, atomic fine structure and two-dimensional electron gases. This paper introduces a theoretical framework that allows for the efficient determination of the eigenenergies and eigenstates of a harmonically trapped two-atom system with short-range interaction subject to an equal mixture of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling created through Raman coupling of atomic hyperfine states. Energy spectra for experimentally relevant parameter combinations are presented and future extensions of the approach are discussed.
arXiv:1406.7177•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Aug 6, 2014•18 citations