Observation of an Orbital Interaction-Induced Feshbach Resonance in $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$

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Observation of an Orbital Interaction-Induced Feshbach Resonance in ${}^{173}{Yb}$

M. Höfer, L. Riegger, F. Scazza, C. Hofrichter, D. R. Fernandes, M. M. Parish, J. Levinsen, I. Bloch, and S. Fölling

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265302 – Published 21 December 2015

See Viewpoint: Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Abstract

We report on the experimental observation of a novel interorbital Feshbach resonance in ultracold ${}^{173}{Yb}$ atoms. This opens up the possibility of tuning the interactions between the ${}^{1}{S_{0}}$ and ${}^{3}{P_{0}}$ metastable state, both possessing zero total electronic angular momentum. The resonance is observed at experimentally accessible magnetic field strengths and occurs universally for all hyperfine state combinations. We characterize the resonance in the bulk via interorbital cross thermalization as well as in a three-dimensional lattice using high-resolution clock-line spectroscopy. Our measurements are well described by a generalized two-channel model of the orbital-exchange interactions.

Received 15 September 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.265302

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Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Published 21 December 2015

Two separate groups have managed to control the interactions in a cold atomic gas in which each atom has two valence electrons.

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Authors & Affiliations

M. Höfer^1,2, L. Riegger^1,2, F. Scazza^1,2, C. Hofrichter^1,2, D. R. Fernandes^1,2, M. M. Parish³, J. Levinsen³, I. Bloch^1,2, and S. Fölling^1,2,*

¹Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Schellingstraße 4, 80799 München, Germany
²Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
³School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia

^*simon.foelling@lmu.de

Strongly Interacting Gas of Two-Electron Fermions at an Orbital Feshbach Resonance

G. Pagano, M. Mancini, G. Cappellini, L. Livi, C. Sias, J. Catani, M. Inguscio, and L. Fallani

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265301 (2015)

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Vol. 115, Iss. 26 — 31 December 2015

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Figure 1
Illustration of the magnetic field dependence of the scattering potentials in the two-channel orbital Feshbach resonance. The blue solid lines represent the scattering potentials at zero magnetic field. The electronic triplet (nuclear spin singlet) supports a bound state with energy $ε_{b}$ . A finite magnetic field induces a deformation of the scattering potential for large atomic separation (the yellow solid lines), proportional to the differential magnetic moment. The inset illustrates the origin of the differential magnetic moment due to different Landé $g$ -factors of the ${}^{1}{S_{0}}$ (bright symbols) and ${}^{3}{P_{0}}$ (dark symbols) states.
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Figure 2
Cross-thermalization rate as a function of the magnetic field $B$ for one- and two-orbital mixtures. Circles and diamonds mark the thermalization rate of the $| e ↓ ⟩ | g ↑ ⟩$ and the $| g ↓ ⟩ | g ↑ ⟩$ mixture, respectively, with $Δ m_{F} = 5$ ( $m_{F} = - 5 / 2$ , $+ 5 / 2$ ). Square symbols show the values for a $| e ↓ ⟩ | g ↑ ⟩$ mixture with $Δ m_{F} = 1$ ( $m_{F} = - 5 / 2$ , $- 3 / 2$ ), rescaled to $B \to \frac{1}{5} Δ m_{F} B$ . Error bars denote the $1 σ$ uncertainty of the fit to the cloud aspect ratio. The inset shows a conversion of the thermalization rate to scattering length $a_{e ↓ g ↑}$ , based on the reference provided by the ground state $a_{g g} = 199.4 a_{0}$ [25] (the dashed line). In the inset, the offset due to the residual ground-state thermalization rate $Γ_{g g, res} = 2.17 s^{- 1}$ has been subtracted (see the text).
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Figure 3
Atom loss in a $| e ↓ ⟩ | g ↑ ⟩$ mixture held at a magnetic field $B$ near the orbital Feshbach resonance. (a) Number of atoms in the state $| g ↑ ⟩$ with $m_{F} = + 5 / 2$ (the circles) and the residual $| g ↓ ⟩$ fraction with $m_{F} = - 5 / 2$ (the diamonds). All data points represent averages of at least eight individual measurements and points less than 2.5 G apart are binned to reduce visual clutter. Error bars indicating the standard error of the mean are smaller than the marker size. (b) Relative population of $| g ↑ ⟩$ , i.e., the number of atoms in $| g ↑ ⟩$ normalized to ${\tilde{N}}_{g ↑} (B) = {\bar{N}}_{g} - N_{g ↓} (B)$ , where ${\bar{N}}_{g}$ is the ground-state atom number without losses, averaged for fields $B > 120 G$ , and $N_{g ↓} (B)$ is the residual atom number in $| g ↓ ⟩$ . The inset shows the time trace of the total atom number decay close to the Feshbach resonance.
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Figure 4
Magnetic field dependence of the $| e ⟩ − | g ⟩$ atom pair interaction energy on a lattice site. The values are given relative to the energy of two noninteracting atoms. The assignment of the spectroscopy resonances (points) is based on the observed transition strengths, which decrease for higher-lying energy states. Solid lines are solutions of the two-particle problem. Light blue bands indicate the range of variations of the theoretical model spanned by varying $a_{e g}^{+}$ and $a_{e g}^{-}$ by 10%. (Inset) Schematic diagram of the excitation geometry.
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Physical Review Letters

Observation of an Orbital Interaction-Induced Feshbach Resonance in ${}^{173}{Yb}$

M. Höfer, L. Riegger, F. Scazza, C. Hofrichter, D. R. Fernandes, M. M. Parish, J. Levinsen, I. Bloch, and S. Fölling

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265302 – Published 21 December 2015

See Viewpoint: Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Abstract

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Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Published 21 December 2015

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Strongly Interacting Gas of Two-Electron Fermions at an Orbital Feshbach Resonance

G. Pagano, M. Mancini, G. Cappellini, L. Livi, C. Sias, J. Catani, M. Inguscio, and L. Fallani

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265301 (2015)

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Physical Review Letters

Observation of an Orbital Interaction-Induced Feshbach Resonance in Yb173

M. Höfer, L. Riegger, F. Scazza, C. Hofrichter, D. R. Fernandes, M. M. Parish, J. Levinsen, I. Bloch, and S. Fölling

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265302 – Published 21 December 2015

See Viewpoint: Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Abstract

Viewpoint

Controlling Collisions in a Two-Electron Atomic Gas

Published 21 December 2015

Authors & Affiliations

See Also

Strongly Interacting Gas of Two-Electron Fermions at an Orbital Feshbach Resonance

G. Pagano, M. Mancini, G. Cappellini, L. Livi, C. Sias, J. Catani, M. Inguscio, and L. Fallani

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 265301 (2015)

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Observation of an Orbital Interaction-Induced Feshbach Resonance in ${}^{173}{Yb}$