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arXiv:physics/0309004 · Physical Review A

Field-linked states of ultracold polar molecules

А. V. Avdeenkov, Daniele C. E. Bortolotti, John L. Bohn

Published Jan 22, 2004• 56 citations
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Abstract

We explore the character of a novel set of ``field-linked'' states that were predicted by Avdeenkov and Bohn [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 043006 (2003)]. These states exist at ultralow temperatures in the presence of an electrostatic field, and their properties are strongly dependent on the field's strength. We clarify the nature of these quasibound states by constructing their wave functions and determining their approximate quantum numbers. As the properties of field-linked states are strongly defined by anisotropic dipolar and Stark interactions, we construct adiabatic surfaces as functions of both the intermolecular distance and the angle that the intermolecular axis makes with the electric field. Within an adiabatic approximation we solve the two-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation to find bound states, whose energies correlate well with resonance features found in fully converged multichannel scattering calculations.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.69.012710

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We explore the character of a novel set of ``field-linked'' states that were predicted by Avdeenkov and Bohn [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 043006 (2003)]. These states exist at ultralow temperatures in the presence of an electrostatic field, and their properties are strongly dependent on the field's strength. We clarify the nature of these quasibound states by constructing their wave functions and determining their approximate quantum numbers. As the properties of field-linked states are strongly defined by anisotropic dipolar and Stark interactions, we construct adiabatic surfaces as functions of both the intermolecular distance and the angle that the intermolecular axis makes with the electric field. Within an adiabatic approximation we solve the two-dimensional Schr"odinger equation to find bound states, whose energies correlate well with resonance features found in fully converged multichannel scattering calculations.
We present first steps toward understanding the ultracold scattering properties of polar molecules in strong electric field-seeking states. We have found that the elastic cross section displays a quasiregular set of potential resonances as a function of the electric field, which potentially offers intimate details about the intermolecular interaction. We illustrate these resonances in a ``toy'' model composed of pure dipoles, and in more physically realistic systems. To analyze these resonances, we use a simple WKB approximation to the eigenphase, which proves both reasonably accurate and meaningful. A general treatment of the Stark effect and dipolar interactions is also presented.
The presence of electric or microwave fields can modify the long-range forces between ultracold dipolar molecules in such a way as to engineer weakly bound states of molecule pairs. These so-called field-linked states [A. V. Avdeenkov and J. L. Bohn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 043006 (2003).PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.90.043006; L. Lassablière and G. Quéméner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 163402 (2018).PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.121.163402], in which the separation between the two bound molecules can be orders of magnitude larger than the molecules themselves, have been observed as resonances in scattering experiments [X.-Y. Chen et al., Nature (London) 614, 59 (2023).NATUAS0028-083610.1038/s41586-022-05651-8]. Here, we propose to use them as tools for the assembly of weakly bound tetramer molecules, by means of ramping an electric field, the electric-field analog of magnetoassociation in atoms. This ability would present new possibilities for constructing ultracold polyatomic molecules.
Ultracold collisions of polar OH molecules are considered in the presence of an electrostatic field. The field exerts a strong influence on both elastic and state-changing inelastic collision rate constants, leading to clear experimental signatures that should help disentangle the theory of cold molecule collisions. Based on the collision rates, we discuss the prospects for evaporative cooling of electrostatically trapped OH. We also find that the scattering properties at ultralow temperatures prove to be remarkably independent of the details of the short-range interaction, owing to avoided crossings in the long-range adiabatic potential curves. The behavior of the scattering rate constants is qualitatively understood in terms of a novel set of long-range states of the [OH]2[\mathrm{OH}{]}_{2}[OH]2​ dimer.
Abstract Scattering resonances are an essential tool for controlling the interactions of ultracold atoms and molecules. However, conventional Feshbach scattering resonances 1 , which have been extensively studied in various platforms 1–7 , are not expected to exist in most ultracold polar molecules because of the fast loss that occurs when two molecules approach at a close distance 8–10 . Here we demonstrate a new type of scattering resonance that is universal for a wide range of polar molecules. The so-called field-linked resonances 11–14 occur in the scattering of microwave-dressed molecules because of stable macroscopic tetramer states in the intermolecular potential. We identify two resonances between ultracold ground-state sodium–potassium molecules and use the microwave frequencies and polarizations to tune the inelastic collision rate by three orders of magnitude, from the unitary limit to well below the universal regime. The field-linked resonance provides a tuning knob to independently control the elastic contact interaction and the dipole–dipole interaction, which we observe as a modification in the thermalization rate. Our result provides a general strategy for resonant scattering between ultracold polar molecules, which paves the way for realizing dipolar superfluids 15 and molecular supersolids 16 , as well as assembling ultracold polyatomic molecules.
We predict the existence of stable bound states between pairs of ultracold diatomic molecules with the aid of a static electric field and 1D harmonic confinement. We focus on collisions of NaK-NaK identical fermions, for which we find that currently achievable experimental parameters allow the observation of these confinement-induced field-linked bound states as scattering resonances. The bound state is highly stable with lifetimes estimated to be tens of seconds long. With the diatomic molecules bound at distances a fraction of the dipolar length scale, these complexes allow for explorations of polyatomic chemistry and Fermi gas superfluid pairing.