Fano interference in quantum resonances from angle-resolved elastic scattering

Abstract

Asymmetric spectral line shapes are a hallmark of interference of a quasi-bound state with a continuum of states. Such line shapes are well known for multichannel systems, for example, in photoionization or Feshbach resonances in molecular scattering. On the other hand, in resonant single channel scattering, the signature of such interference may disappear due to the orthogonality of partial waves. Here, we show that probing the angular dependence of the cross section allows us to unveil asymmetric Fano profiles also in a single channel shape resonance. We observe a shift in the peak of the resonance profile in the elastic collisions between metastable helium and deuterium molecules with detection angle, in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions from full quantum scattering calculations. Using a model description for the partial wave interference, we can disentangle the resonant and background contributions and extract the relative phase responsible for the characteristic Fano-like profiles from our experimental measurements.

15 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Polaritonic Feshbach Resonance
• Interferometric phase detection at x-ray energies via Fano resonance control
• Determining the nature of quantum resonances by probing elastic and reactive scattering in cold collisions
• Influence of Shape Resonances on the Angular Dependence of Molecular Photoionization Delays

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Laser-assisted Fano resonance: attosecond quantum control and dynamical imaging
• Controlling periodic Fano resonances of quantum acoustic waves with a giant atom coupled to microwave waveguide
• Scattering Angle Dependence of Fano Resonance Profiles in Cold Atomic Collisions Analyzed with the Complex Valued $w$ Parameter