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Acta Physica Sinica

d-wave Feshbach resonance of 7Li atoms in high magnetic fields

CHEN Zhongzhi, LAI Haijian, Qi-Kang Ran, Zhenhua YU

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Feshbach resonance is a fundamental phenomenon in cold atomic physics, where interatomic interactions can be precisely changed into a scattering resonance by varying an external magnetic field. This effect plays a crucial role in ultracold atomic experiments, enabling the control of interaction strength, the formation of molecular bound states, and the realization of strongly correlated quantum systems. With the rapid development of cold atom experiments, numerous Feshbach resonances corresponding to different partial waves, such as s-wave, p-wave, and even higher partial wave ones, have been experimentally identified. While s-wave resonances have been widely utilized due to their isotropic nature and strong coupling, and higher partial-wave resonances (including p-wave and d-wave resonances), provide unique opportunities for exploring anisotropic interactions and novel quantum phases. In this study, by using the multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT), we predict that two d-wave Feshbach resonances are existent in 7Li at 1039.24 G and 1055.64 G, repectively. Physical properties of the two resonances are presented, such as the resonance width and closed channel dimer energy. In addition, we optimize the computational parameters by using the Nelder-Mead algorithm and investigate the possible resonance splitting induced by dipole-dipole interactions in higher partial waves. The presence of these d-wave resonances at high magnetic fields provides a new platform for investigating the interplay between higher-order partial wave interactions and quantum many-body effects. Our results provide opportunities for investigating the effects of higher partial wave Feshbach resonances in high magnetic fields. Our theoretical predictions thus serve as a useful reference for future experimental studies of higher-order resonance phenomena in lithium and other atomic species.

DOI
10.7498/aps.74.20241602

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Feshbach resonance is a fundamental phenomenon in cold atomic physics, where interatomic interactions can be precisely changed into a scattering resonance by varying an external magnetic field. This effect plays a crucial role in ultracold atomic experiments, enabling the control of interaction strength, the formation of molecular bound states, and the realization of strongly correlated quantum systems. With the rapid development of cold atom experiments, numerous Feshbach resonances corresponding to different partial waves, such as s-wave, p-wave, and even higher partial wave ones, have been experimentally identified. While s-wave resonances have been widely utilized due to their isotropic nature and strong coupling, and higher partial-wave resonances (including p-wave and d-wave resonances), provide unique opportunities for exploring anisotropic interactions and novel quantum phases. In this study, by using the multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT), we predict that two d-wave Feshbach resonances are existent in 7Li at 1039.24 G and 1055.64 G, repectively. Physical properties of the two resonances are presented, such as the resonance width and closed channel dimer energy. In addition, we optimize the computational parameters by using the Nelder-Mead algorithm and investigate the possible resonance splitting induced by dipole-dipole interactions in higher partial waves. The presence of these d-wave resonances at high magnetic fields provides a new platform for investigating the interplay between higher-order partial wave interactions and quantum many-body effects. Our results provide opportunities for investigating the effects of higher partial wave Feshbach resonances in high magnetic fields. Our theoretical predictions thus serve as a useful reference for future experimental studies of higher-order resonance phenomena in lithium and other atomic species.
A comprehensive search for broad Feshbach resonances (FRs) in all possible combinations of stable alkali-metal atoms is carried out, using a multichannel quantum-defect theory assisted by the analytic wave functions for a long-range van der Waals potential. A number of broad sss-, ppp-, and ddd-wave FRs in the lowest-energy scattering channels, which are stable against two-body dipolar spin-flip loss, are predicted and characterized. Our results also show that broad FRs of ppp- or ddd-wave type that are free of two-body loss do not exist between fermionic alkali-metal atoms for a magnetic field up to 1000 G. These findings constitute helpful guidance on efforts towards the experimental study of high-partial-wave coupling-induced many-body physics.
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.
Hybrid systems of single, trapped ions embedded in quantum gases are a promising platform for quantum simulations and the study of long-range interactions in the ultracold regime. Feshbach resonances allow for experimental control over the character and strength of the atom-ion interaction. However, the complexity of atom-ion Feshbach spectra, e.g., due to second-order spin-orbit coupling, requires a detailed experimental understanding of the resonance properties—such as the contributing open-channel partial waves. In this work, we immerse a single barium ( Ba + ) ion in a bath of lithium (Li) atoms spin polarized in their hyperfine ground state to investigate the collision energy dependence of magnetically tunable atom-ion Feshbach resonances. We demonstrate fine control over the kinetic energy of the Ba + ion and employ it to explore three-body recombination in the transition from the many- to the few-partial wave regime, marked by a sudden increase of resonant loss. In a dense spectrum—with on average 0.58(1) resonances per Gauss—we select a narrow, isolated feature and characterize it as an s -wave resonance. We introduce a quantum recombination model that allows us to distinguish it from higher-partial-wave resonances. Furthermore, in a magnetic field range with no significant loss at the lowest collision energies, we identify a higher-partial-wave resonance that appears and peaks only when we increase the energy to around the s -wave limit. Our results demonstrate that hybrid atom-ion traps can reach collision energies well in the ultracold regime and that the ion’s kinetic energy can be employed to tune the collisional complex to resonance, paving the way for fast control over the interaction in settings where magnetic field variations are detrimental to coherence.
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High partial-wave Feshbach resonances in an ultracold 6^66Li-133^{133}133Cs mixture
We measure higher partial wave Feshbach resonances in an ultracold mixture of fermionic 6^66Li and bosonic 133^{133}133Cs by magnetic field dependent atom-loss spectroscopy. For the ppp-wave Feshbach resonances we observe triplet structures corresponding to different projections of the pair rotation angular momentum onto the external magnetic field axis. We attribute the splittings to the spin-spin and spin-rotation couplings by modelling the observation using a full coupled-channel calculation. Comparison with an oversimplified model, estimating the spin-rotation coupling by describing the weakly bound close-channel molecular state with the perturbative multipole expansion, reveals the significant contribution of the molecular wavefunction at short internuclear distances. Our findings highlight the potential of Feshbach resonances in providing precise information on short- and intermediate-range molecular couplings and wavefunctions. The observed ddd-wave Feshbach resonances allow us to refine the LiCs singlet and triplet ground-state molecular potential curves at large internuclear separations.