Model study on the photoassociation of a pair of trapped atoms into an ultralong-range molecule

Abstract

Using the method of quantum-defect theory, we calculate the ultralong-range molecular vibrational states near the dissociation threshold of a diatomic molecular potential which asymptotically varies as $-1/R^3$. The properties of these states are of considerable interest as they can be formed by photoassociation (PA) of two ground state atoms. The Franck-Condon overlap integrals between the harmonically trapped atom-pair states and the ultralong-range molecular vibrational states are estimated and compared with their values for a pair of untrapped free atoms in the low-energy scattering state. We find that the binding between a pair of ground-state atoms by a harmonic trap has significant effect on the Franck-Condon integrals and thus can be used to influence PA. Trap-induced binding between two ground-state atoms may facilitate coherent PA dynamics between the two atoms and the photoassociated diatomic molecule.

arXiv comment11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. A (September, 2003)

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• High light intensity photoassociation in a Bose-Einstein condensate
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• Quasi-One-Dimensional Dipolar Quantum Gases
• Influence of a tight isotropic harmonic trap on photoassociation in ultracold homonuclear alkali gases
• Photoassociation dynamics in a Bose-Einstein condensate
• Boson-like quantum dynamics of association in ultracold Fermi gases
• Mimicking multi-channel scattering with single-channel approaches