arXiv subjects

Chris H. Greene

Publications and source records attributed to Chris H. Greene.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Role of the intraspecies scattering length in the Efimov scenario with large mass difference

We experimentally and theoretically study the effect of the intraspecies scattering length onto the heteronuclear Efimov scenario, following up on our earlier observation of Efimov resonances in an ultracold Cs-Li mixture for negative [Pires et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 250404 (2014)] and positive Cs-Cs scattering length [Ulmanis et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 153201 (2016)]. Three theoretical models of increasing complexity are employed to quantify its influence on the scaling factor and the three-body parameter: a simple Born-Oppenheimer picture, a zero-range theory, and a spinless van der Waals model. These models are compared to Efimov resonances observed in an ultracold mixture of bosonic $^{133}$Cs and fermionic $^6$Li atoms close to two Cs-Li Feshbach resonances located at 843 G and 889 G, characterized by different sign and magnitude of the Cs-Cs interaction. By changing the sign and magnitude of the intraspecies scattering length different scaling behaviors of the three-body loss rate are identified, in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions. The three-body loss rate is strongly influenced by the intraspecies scattering length.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Inelastic low-energy collisions of electrons with HeH$^+$: rovibrational excitation and dissociative recombination

Inelastic low-energy (0--1 eV) collisions of electrons with HeH$^+$ cations are treated theoretically, with a focus on the rovibrational excitation and dissociative recombination (DR) channels. In an application of {\it ab initio} multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT), the description of both processes is based on the Born-Oppenheimer quantum defects. The quantum defects were determined using the R-matrix approach in two different frames of reference: the center-of-charge and the center-of-mass frames. The results obtained in the two reference systems, after implementing the Fano-Jungen style rovibrational frame-transformation technique, shows differences in the rate of convergence for these two different frames of reference. We find good agreement with the available theoretically predicted rotationally inelastic thermal rate coefficients. Our computed DR rate also agrees well with available experimental results. Moreover, several computational experiments shed light on the role of rotational and vibrational excitations in the indirect DR mechanism that governs the low energy HeH$^+$ dissociation process. While the rotational excitation is several orders of magnitude more probable process at the studied collision energies, the closed-channel resonances described by the high-n, rotationally excited neutral molecules of HeH contribute very little to the dissociation probability. But the situation is very different for resonances defined by the high-n, vibrationally excited HeH molecules, which are found to dissociate with approximately 90% probability.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2017

Anisotropic blockade using pendular Rydberg butterfly molecules

We propose an experiment to demonstrate a novel blockade mechanism caused by long-range anisotropic interactions in an ultracold dipolar gas composed of the recently observed "butterfly" Rydberg molecules. At the blockade radius, the strong intermolecular interaction between two adjacent molecules shifts their molecular states out of resonance with the photoassociation laser, preventing their simultaneous excitation. When the molecules are prepared in a quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) trap, the interaction's strength can be tuned via a weak external field. The molecular density thus depends strongly on the angle between the trap axis and the field. The available Rydberg and molecular states provide a wide range of tunability.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Universal few-body physics and cluster formation

A recent rejuvenation of experimental and theoretical interest in the physics of few- body systems has provided deep, fundamental insights into a broad range of problems. Few-body physics is a cross-cutting discipline not restricted to conventional subject ar- eas such as nuclear physics or atomic or molecular physics. To a large degree, the recent explosion of interest in this subject has been sparked by dramatic enhancements of experimental capabilities in ultracold atomic systems over the past decade, which now permit atoms and molecules to be explored deep in the quantum mechanical limit with controllable two-body interactions. This control, typically enabled by magnetic or electromagnetically-dressed Fano-Feshbach resonances, allows in particular access to the range of universal few-body physics, where two-body scattering lengths far exceed all other length scales in the problem. The Efimov effect, where 3 particles experienc- ing short-range interactions can counterintuitively exhibit an infinite number of bound or quasi-bound energy levels, is the most famous example of universality. Tremendous progress in the field of universal Efimov physics has taken off, driven particularly by a combination of experimental and theoretical studies in the past decade, and prior to the first observation in 2006, by an extensive set of theoretical studies dating back to 1970. Because experimental observations of Efimov physics have usually relied on resonances or interference phenomena in three-body recombination, this connects naturally with the processes of molecule formation in a low temperature gas of atoms or nucleons, and more generally with N-body recombination processes. Some other topics not closely related to the Efimov effect are also reviewed in this article, including ...

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Efimov-van-der-Waals universality for ultracold atoms with positive scattering lengths

We study the universality of the three-body parameters for systems relevant for ultracold quantum gases with positive $s$-wave two-body scattering lengths. Our results account for finite-range effects and their universality is tested by changing the number of deeply bound diatomic states supported by our interaction model. We find that the physics controlling the values of the three-body parameters associated with the ground and excited Efimov states is constrained by a variational principle and can be strongly affected by $d$-wave interactions that prevent both trimer states from merging into the atom-dimer continuum. Our results enable comparisons to current experimental data and they suggest tests of universality for atomic systems with{positive scattering lengths.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Renormalized contact interaction in degenerate unitary Bose gases

We renormalize the two-body contact interaction based on the exact solution of two interacting particles in a harmonic trap. This renormalization extends the validity of the contact interaction to large scattering lengths. We apply this renormalized interaction to a degenerate unitary Bose gas to study its stationary properties and elementary excitations using the mean-field theory and the hyperspherical method. Since the scattering length is no longer a relevant length scale at unitarity, universal properties are obtained that depend only on the average particle density. Our treatment shows that the universal relations for the total energy and for the two-body contact are $E/N=12.67\hbar^2\langle n^{2/3}\rangle/2m$ and $C_{2}/N=11.8\langle n^{1/3}\rangle$ respectively.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Coupled square well model and Fano-phase correspondence

This paper investigates the Fano-Feshbach resonance with a two-channel coupled-square-well model in both the frequency and time domains. This systems is shown to exhibit Fano lineshape profiles in the energy absorption spectrum. The associated time-dependent dipole response has a phase shift that has recently been understood to be related to the Fano lineshape asymmetric $q$ parameter by $ϕ=2arg(q-i)$. The present study demonstrates that the phase-$q$ correspondence is general for any Fano resonance in the weak coupling regime, independent of the transition mechanism.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Van der Waals universality in homonuclear atom-dimer elastic collisions

The universal aspects of atom-dimer elastic collisions are investigated within the framework of Faddeev equations. The two-body interactions between the neutral atoms are approximated by the separable potential approach. Our analysis considers a pure van der Waals potential tail as well as soft-core van der Waals interactions permitting us in this manner to address the universally general features of atom-dimer resonant spectra. In particular, we show that the atom-dimer resonances are solely associated with the {\it excited} Efimov states. Furthermore, the positions of the corresponding resonances for a soft-core potentials with more than 5 bound states are in good agreement with the corresponding results from an infinitely deep pure van der Waals tail potential.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Hyperspherical Slater determinant approach to few-body fractional quantum Hall states

In a recent study[Phys. Rev. B 92 (2015) 125427], a hyperspherical approach has been developed to study of few-body fractional quantum Hall states. This method has been successfully applied to the exploration of few boson and fermion problems in the quantum Hall region, as well as the study of inter-Landau level collective excitations. However, the hyperspherical method as it is normally implemented requires a subsidiary (anti-)symmetrization process, which limits its computational effectiveness. The present work overcomes these difficulties and extends the power of this method by implementing a represen- tation of the hyperspherical many-body basis space in terms of Slater determinants of single particle eigenfunctions. A clear connection between the hyperspherical representation and the conventional single particle picture is presented, along with a compact operator representation of the theoretical framework.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Spin-orbit-induced resonances and threshold anomalies in a reduced dimension Fermi gas

We calculate the reflection and transmission probabilities in a one-dimensional Fermi gas with an equal mixing of the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (RD-SOC) produced by an external Raman laser field. These probabilities are computed over multiple relevant energy ranges within the pseudo-potential approximation. Strong scattering resonances are found whenever the incident energy approaches either a scattering threshold or a quasi-bound state attached to one of the energetically closed higher dispersion branches. A striking difference is demonstrated between two very different regimes set by the Raman laser intensity, namely between scattering for the single- minimum dispersion versus the double-minimum dispersion at the lowest threshold. The presence of RD-SOC together with the Raman field fundamentally changes the scattering behavior and enables the realization of very different one-dimensional theoretical models in a single experimental setup when combined with a confinement-induced resonance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Heteronuclear Efimov scenario with positive intraspecies scattering length

We investigate theoretically and experimentally the heteronuclear Efimov scenario for a three-body system that consists of two bosons and one distinguishable particle with positive intraspecies scattering lengths. The three-body parameter at the three-body scattering threshold and the scaling factor between consecutive Efimov resonances are found to be controlled by the scattering length between the two bosons, approximately independent of short-range physics. We observe two excited-state Efimov resonances in the three-body recombination spectra of an ultracold mixture of fermionic $^6 $Li and bosonic $^{133} $Cs atoms close to a Li-Cs Feshbach resonance, where the Cs-Cs interaction is positive. Deviation of the obtained scaling factor of 4.0(3) from the universal prediction of 4.9 and the absence of the ground state Efimov resonance shed new light on the interpretation of the universality and the discrete scaling behavior of heteronuclear Efimov physics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Ultracold chemical reactions of a single Rydberg atom in a dense gas

Within a dense environment ($ρ\approx 10^{14}\,$atoms/cm$^3$) at ultracold temperatures ($T < 1\,μ\text{K}$), a single atom excited to a Rydberg state acts as a reaction center for surrounding neutral atoms. At these temperatures almost all neutral atoms within the Rydberg orbit are bound to the Rydberg core and interact with the Rydberg atom. We have studied the reaction rate and products for $nS$ $^{87}$Rb Rydberg states and we mainly observe a state change of the Rydberg electron to a high orbital angular momentum $l$, with the released energy being converted into kinetic energy of the Rydberg atom. Unexpectedly, the measurements show a threshold behavior at $n\approx 100$ for the inelastic collision time leading to increased lifetimes of the Rydberg state independent of the densities investigated. Even at very high densities ($ρ\approx4.8\times 10^{14}\,\text{cm}^{-3}$), the lifetime of a Rydberg atom exceeds $10\,μ\text{s}$ at $n > 140$ compared to $1\,μ\text{s}$ at $n=90$. In addition, a second observed reaction mechanism, namely Rb$_2^+$ molecule formation, was studied. Both reaction products are equally probable for $n=40$ but the fraction of Rb$_2^+$ created drops to below 10$\,$% for $n\ge90$.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Few-body collective excitations beyond Kohn's theorem in quantum Hall systems

A relative coordinate breathing mode in the quantum Hall system is predicted to exist with different behavior under either Coulomb or dipole-dipole interactions. While Kohn's theorem predicts that any relative coordinate interaction will fail to alter the center of mass energy spectrum, it can affect excitations in the relative coordinates. One such collective excitation, which we call the hyperradial breathing mode, emerges naturally from a few-body, hyperspherical representation of the problem and depends on the inter-particle interactions, the ground state wave function, and the number of particles participating in the excitation. Possible observations of this excitation will be discussed in the context of both cold rotating atomic simulations and conventional quantum Hall experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Controlling Rydberg atom excitations in dense background gases

We discuss the density shift and broadening of Rydberg spectra measured in cold, dense atom clouds in the context of Rydberg atom spectroscopy done at room temperature, dating back to the experiments of Amaldi and Segrè in 1934. We discuss the theory first developed in 1934 by Fermi to model the mean-field density shift and subsequent developments of the theoretical understanding since then. In particular, we present a model whereby the density shift is calculated using a microscopic model in which the configurations of the perturber atoms within the Rydberg orbit are considered. We present spectroscopic measurements of a Rydberg atom, taken in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and thermal clouds with densities varying from $5\times10^{14}\textrm{cm}^{-3}$ to $9\times10^{12}\textrm{cm}^{-3}$. The density shift measured via the spectrum's center of gravity is compared with the mean-field energy shift expected for the effective atom cloud density determined via a time of flight image. Lastly, we present calculations and data demonstrating the ability of localizing the Rydberg excitation via the density shift within a particular density shell for high principal quantum numbers.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Effective Control of Cold Collisions with Radio Frequency Fields

We study $^{87}$Rb cold collisions in a static magnetic field and a single-color radio frequency (RF) field by employing the multi-channel quantum defect theory in combination with the Floquet method to solve the two-body time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Our results show that RF fields can modify the two-body scattering length by a large scale through Feshbach resonances both in low and high static magnetic field regimes. Such RF induced Feshbach resonances can be applied to quenching experiments or controlling interactions in spinor condensates. Here, we also show that analogous to photo-association, RF fields can also associate cold atoms into molecules at a useful rate.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Generalized local frame transformation theory for excited species in external fields

A rigorous theoretical framework is developed for a generalized local frame transformation theory (GLFT). The GLFT is applicable to the following systems: to Rydberg atoms or molecules in an electric field, or to negative ions in any combination of electric and/or magnetic fields. A first test application to the photoionization spectra of Rydberg atoms in an external electric field demonstrates dramatic improvement over the first version of the local frame transformation theory developed initially by Fano and Harmin. This revised GLFT theory yields non-trivial corrections because it now includes the full on-shell Hilbert space without adopting the truncations in the original theory. Comparisons of the semi-analytical GLFT Stark spectra with {\it ab initio} numerical simulations yields errors in the range of a few tens of MHz, an improvement over the original Fano-Harmin theory whose errors are 10-100 times larger. Our analysis provides a systematic pathway to precisely describe the corresponding photoabsorption spectra that should be accurate enough to meet most modern experimental standards.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Energy scaling of cold atom-atom-ion three-body recombination

We study three-body recombination of Ba$^+$ + Rb + Rb in the mK regime where a single $^{138}$Ba$^{+}$ ion in a Paul trap is immersed into a cloud of ultracold $^{87}$Rb atoms. We measure the energy dependence of the three-body rate coefficient $k_3$ and compare the results to the theoretical prediction, $k_3 \propto E_{\textrm{col}}^{-3/4}$ where $E_{\textrm{col}}$ is the collision energy. We find agreement if we assume that the non-thermal ion energy distribution is determined by at least two different micro-motion induced energy scales. Furthermore, using classical trajectory calculations we predict how the median binding energy of the formed molecules scales with the collision energy. Our studies give new insights into the kinetics of an ion immersed into an ultracold atom cloud and yield important prospects for atom-ion experiments targeting the s-wave regime.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Observation of pendular butterfly Rydberg molecules

Obtaining full control over the internal and external quantum states of molecules is the central goal of ultracold chemistry and allows for the study of coherent molecular dynamics, collisions and tests of fundamental laws of physics. When the molecules additionally have a permanent electric dipole moment, the study of dipolar quantum gases and spin-systems with long-range interactions as well as applications in quantum information processing are possible. Rydberg molecules constitute a class of exotic molecules, which are bound by the interaction between the Rydberg electron and the ground state atom. They exhibit extreme bond lengths of hundreds of Bohr radii and giant permanent dipole moments in the kilo-Debye range. A special type with exceptional properties are the so-called butterfly molecules, whose electron density resembles the shape of a butterfly. Here, we report on the photoassociation of butterfly Rydberg molecules and their orientation in a weak electric field. Starting from a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms, we fully control the external degrees of freedom and spectroscopically resolve the rotational structure and the emerging pendular states in an external electric field. This not only allows us to extract the bond length, the dipole moment and the angular momentum of the molecule but also to deterministically create molecules with a tunable bond length and orientation. We anticipate direct applications in quantum chemistry, many-body quantum physics and quantum information processing.

physics.atom-ph↗