So far, we have dealt with one- and two-body systems in a variety of settings. These are quite simple, at least a priori, since the equations needed to solve one- and twoparticle scattering problems, as well as bound states, are usually easy enough to handle. The situation becomes much more intricate in the three-body problem, as we shall see in this chapter. Firstly, while two particles in free space can either scatter or bind together, three bodies have extra channels (for attractive interactions) corresponding to two bound particles scattering off a third. Moreover, the energies of these extra channels can be degenerate with those of three unbound particles, and the total momentum of a pair within the triplet is not conserved. Fortunately, we will see that getting our hands dirty with the three-body problem pays off, since there are a number of exotic phenomena associated with the quantum three-body problem, for both bound and scattering states. In this chapter, we introduce the formalism necessary to investigate the three-body problem and study in detail some of the most striking phenomenology known to date associated with, at least, the simplest interactions.So far, we have dealt with one- and two-body systems in a variety of settings. These are quite simple, at least a priori, since the equations needed to solve one- and twoparticle scattering problems, as well as bound states, are usually easy enough to handle. The situation becomes much more intricate in the three-body problem, as we shall see in this chapter. Firstly, while two particles in free space can either scatter or bind together, three bodies have extra channels (for attractive interactions) corresponding to two bound particles scattering off a third. Moreover, the energies of these extra channels can be degenerate with those of three unbound particles, and the total momentum of a pair within the triplet is not conserved. Fortunately, we will see that getting our hands dirty with the three-body problem pays off, since there are a number of exotic phenomena associated with the quantum three-body problem, for both bound and scattering states. In this chapter, we introduce the formalism necessary to investigate the three-body problem and study in detail some of the most striking phenomenology known to date associated with, at least, the simplest interactions.

Institute of Physics eBooksSep 1, 20230 citations

Many-body scattering problem

Israel Michael Sigal

Springer eBooksApr 6, 20080 citations

Three-body problem for ultracold atoms in quasi-one-dimensional traps

Christophe Mora, Reinhold Egger, Alexander O. Gogolin

We study the three-body problem for both fermionic and bosonic cold-atom gases in a parabolic transverse trap of length scale ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. For this quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) problem, there is a two-body bound state (dimer) for any sign of the 3D scattering length $a$ and a confinement-induced scattering resonance. The fermionic three-body problem is universal and characterized by two atom-dimer scattering lengths ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ and ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}$ . In the tightly bound ``dimer limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, we find ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}=0$ and ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ is linked to the 3D atom-dimer scattering length. In the weakly bound ``BCS limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$, a connection to the Bethe ansatz is established, which allows for exact results. The full crossover is obtained numerically. The bosonic three-body problem, however, is nonuniversal: ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ and ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}$ depend both on ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a$ and on a parameter ${R}^{*}$ related to the sharpness of the resonance. Scattering solutions are qualitatively similar to fermionic ones. We predict the existence of a single confinement-induced three-body bound state (trimer) for bosons.We study the three-body problem for both fermionic and bosonic cold-atom gases in a parabolic transverse trap of length scale ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. For this quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) problem, there is a two-body bound state (dimer) for any sign of the 3D scattering length $a$ and a confinement-induced scattering resonance. The fermionic three-body problem is universal and characterized by two atom-dimer scattering lengths ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ and ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}$. In the tightly bound ``dimer limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, we find ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}=0$ and ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ is linked to the 3D atom-dimer scattering length. In the weakly bound ``BCS limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$, a connection to the Bethe ansatz is established, which allows for exact results. The full crossover is obtained numerically. The bosonic three-body problem, however, is nonuniversal: ${a}_{\mathit{ad}}$ and ${b}_{\mathit{ad}}$ depend both on ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a$ and on a parameter ${R}^{*}$ related to the sharpness of the resonance. Scattering solutions are qualitatively similar to fermionic ones. We predict the existence of a single confinement-induced three-body bound state (trimer) for bosons.

arXiv:cond-mat/0412225Physical Review AMay 9, 200546 citations

Scattering in the N-body System

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooksMay 1, 20060 citations

Scattering and Bound States of Two Heteronuclear Ultracold Atoms in a Quasi-Two-Dimensional Confinement

B. Wang, F. Yang, P. Zhang

We solve the two-body problem of ultracold heteronuclear atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) geometry. The quasi-2D confinement is realized by a harmonic trap along the longitudinal ( $z$ -) direction, with different trap frequencies for the two atoms, as in many current experiments on ultracold heteronuclear gases. As a consequence, the longitudinal center-of-mass (CoM) motion is coupled to the relative motion, which significantly complicates the two-body problem. We solve this problem exactly and derive the 2D scattering length $a_{\rm 2D}$ , the 2D effective range parameter $R_{\rm 2D}$ , and the bound-state energies, as functions of the $s$ -wave scattering length and effective range of the two atoms in free three-dimensional (3D) space. We show that multiple 2D scattering resonances can be induced by the coupling between the longitudinal CoM and relative motion. Around these resonances, $a_{\rm 2D}$ varies rapidly with the 3D scattering parameters, while $R_{\rm 2D}$ is strongly enhanced. Since the effective pairwise interaction in quasi-2D ultracold gases is determined by i.e., the two-body scattering amplitudes and bound-state energies, our results can be used for manipulating the effective 2D interatomic interaction in quasi-2D ultracold heteronuclear gases by tuning the confinement frequencies and the 3D scattering parameters.We solve the two-body problem of ultracold heteronuclear atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) geometry. The quasi-2D confinement is realized by a harmonic trap along the longitudinal ($z$-) direction, with different trap frequencies for the two atoms, as in many current experiments on ultracold heteronuclear gases. As a consequence, the longitudinal center-of-mass (CoM) motion is coupled to the relative motion, which significantly complicates the two-body problem. We solve this problem exactly and derive the 2D scattering length $a_{\rm 2D}$, the 2D effective range parameter $R_{\rm 2D}$, and the bound-state energies, as functions of the $s$-wave scattering length and effective range of the two atoms in free three-dimensional (3D) space. We show that multiple 2D scattering resonances can be induced by the coupling between the longitudinal CoM and relative motion. Around these resonances, $a_{\rm 2D}$ varies rapidly with the 3D scattering parameters, while $R_{\rm 2D}$ is strongly enhanced. Since the effective pairwise interaction in quasi-2D ultracold gases is determined by i.e., the two-body scattering amplitudes and bound-state energies, our results can be used for manipulating the effective 2D interatomic interaction in quasi-2D ultracold heteronuclear gases by tuning the confinement frequencies and the 3D scattering parameters.

cond-mat.quant-gasCross-listedarXiv:2606.02987Jun 3, 20260 citations

Scattering in the N-body System

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooksNov 1, 19990 citations

a

and a confinement-induced scattering resonance. The fermionic three-body problem is universal and characterized by two atom-dimer scattering lengths

{a}_{\mathit{ad}}

and

{b}_{\mathit{ad}}

. In the tightly bound ``dimer limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, we find

{b}_{\mathit{ad}}=0

and

{a}_{\mathit{ad}}

is linked to the 3D atom-dimer scattering length. In the weakly bound ``BCS limit'' ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$, a connection to the Bethe ansatz is established, which allows for exact results. The full crossover is obtained numerically. The bosonic three-body problem, however, is nonuniversal:

{a}_{\mathit{ad}}

and

{b}_{\mathit{ad}}

depend both on ${a}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}∕a$ and on a parameter

{R}^{*}

related to the sharpness of the resonance. Scattering solutions are qualitatively similar to fermionic ones. We predict the existence of a single confinement-induced three-body bound state (trimer) for bosons.

We solve the two-body problem of ultracold heteronuclear atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) geometry. The quasi-2D confinement is realized by a harmonic trap along the longitudinal (

z

-) direction, with different trap frequencies for the two atoms, as in many current experiments on ultracold heteronuclear gases. As a consequence, the longitudinal center-of-mass (CoM) motion is coupled to the relative motion, which significantly complicates the two-body problem. We solve this problem exactly and derive the 2D scattering length

a_{\rm 2D}

, the 2D effective range parameter

R_{\rm 2D}

, and the bound-state energies, as functions of the

s

-wave scattering length and effective range of the two atoms in free three-dimensional (3D) space. We show that multiple 2D scattering resonances can be induced by the coupling between the longitudinal CoM and relative motion. Around these resonances,

a_{\rm 2D}

varies rapidly with the 3D scattering parameters, while

R_{\rm 2D}

is strongly enhanced. Since the effective pairwise interaction in quasi-2D ultracold gases is determined by i.e., the two-body scattering amplitudes and bound-state energies, our results can be used for manipulating the effective 2D interatomic interaction in quasi-2D ultracold heteronuclear gases by tuning the confinement frequencies and the 3D scattering parameters.