Abstract
We investigate the ultracold reaction dynamics of magnetically trapped radicals using rigorous quantum scattering calculations involving three coupled potential energy surfaces. We find that the reactive cross section is driven by a short-ranged collisional mechanism, and its magnitude is only weakly dependent on magnetic field strength. Unlike most ultracold reactions observed so far, the scattering dynamics is nonuniversal. Our results indicate that chemical reactions can cause more trap loss than spin-inelastic collisions, making molecular evaporative cooling more difficult than previously anticipated.
- Received 27 August 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.063201
© 2013 American Physical Society