Majorana spin-flip transitions in a magnetic trap

Abstract

Atoms confined in a magnetic trap can escape by making spin-flip Majorana transitions due to a breakdown of the adiabatic approximation. Several papers have studied this process for atoms with spin $F=1/2$ or $F=1$. The present paper calculates the escape rate for atoms with spin $F>1$. This problem has new features because the perturbation $\Delta T$ which allows atoms to escape satisfies a selection rule $\Delta F_z=0,\pm 1,\pm 2$ and multi-step processes contribute in leading order. When the adiabatic approximation is satisfied the leading order terms can be summed to yield a simple expression for the escape rate.

16pages

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Loss of molecules in magneto-electrostatic traps due to nonadiabatic transitions