Long range intermolecular forces in triatomic systems: connecting the atom-diatom and atom-atom-atom representations

The long-range forces that act between three atoms are analysed in both atom-diatom and atom-atom-atom representations. Expressions for atom-diatom dispersion coefficients are obtained in terms of 3-body nonadditive coefficients. The anisotropy of atom-diatom C_6 dispersion coefficients arises primarily from nonadditive triple-dipole and quadruple-dipole forces, while pairwise-additive forces and nonadditive triple-dipole and dipole-dipole-quadrupole forces contribute significantly to atom-diatom C_8 coefficients. The resulting expressions are applied to dispersion coefficients for Li + Li_2 (triplet) and recommendations are made for the best way to obtain global triatomic potentials that dissociate correctly both to three separated atoms and to an atom and a diatomic molecule.Comment: To be published in a special issue of Molecular Physics in honour of Mark Chil

Clusters containing open-shell molecules. III. Quantum five-dimensional/two-surface bound-state calculations on ArnOH van der Waals clusters (X2Π, n=4 to 12)

This paper presents a theoretical study of the bound states of the open-shell OH radical in its ground electronic state(X2Π) interacting with n Ar atoms, for n from 4 to 12. After freezing the geometry of the Arn cage or subunit at the equilibrium structure (preceding paper), we carry out nonadiabatic five-dimensional quantum dynamics calculations on two coupled potential energy surfaces, using an extension of the method previously applied to closed-shell ArnHFclusters [J. Chem. Phys. 103, 1829 (1995)]. The method is based on a discrete variable representation (DVR) for the translational motion of OH relative to Arn, combined with a finite basis representation of the OH hindered rotation and electronic structure, including spin–orbit effects. The pattern of OH hindered rotor levels in clusters is similar to that in Ar–OH itself, though extended over three to four times the energy range for n=4 to 9. Ar12OH has a nearly spherical shell of Ar atoms around the OH, so the anisotropic splitting is very small. For n=10 and 11, the anisotropy may be viewed as arising from holes in an otherwise spherical shell, and the resulting patterns of hindered rotor levels are inverted versions of those for Ar2OH and Ar–OH

Microwave Shielding of Ultracold Polar Molecules

We use microwaves to engineer repulsive long-range interactions between ultracold polar molecules. The resulting shielding suppresses various loss mechanisms and provides large elastic cross sections. Hyperfine interactions limit the shielding under realistic conditions, but a magnetic field allows suppression of the losses to below 10 − 14     cm 3   s − 1 . The mechanism and optimum conditions for shielding differ substantially from those proposed by Gorshkov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 073201 (2008)], and do not require cancellation of the long-range dipole-dipole interaction that is vital to many applications

Controlling collisional loss and scattering lengths of ultracold dipolar molecules with static electric fields

Trapped samples of ultracold molecules are often short-lived, because close collisions between them result in trap loss. We investigate the use of shielding with static electric fields to create repulsive barriers between polar molecules to prevent such loss. Shielding is very effective even for RbCs, with a relatively low dipole moment, and even more effective for molecules such as NaK, NaRb and NaCs, with progressively larger dipoles. Varying the electric field allows substantial control over the scattering length, which will be crucial for the stability or collapse of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates. This arises because the dipole-dipole interaction creates a long-range attraction that is tunable with electric field. For RbCs, the scattering length is positive across the range where shielding is effective, because the repulsion responsible for shielding dominates. For NaK, the scattering length can be tuned across zero to negative values. For NaRb and NaCs, the attraction is strong enough to support tetraatomic bound states, and the scattering length passes through resonant poles where these states cross threshold. For KAg and CsAg, there are multiple bound states and multiple poles. For each molecule, we calculate the variation of scattering length with field and comment on the possibilities for exploring new physics.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures and 1 tabl

Long-range states and Feshbach resonances in collisions between ultracold alkali-metal diatomic molecules and atoms

We consider the long-range states expected for complexes formed from an alkali-metal diatomic molecule in a singlet state and an alkali-metal atom. We explore the structure of the Hamiltonian for such systems, and the couplings between the six angular momenta that are present. We consider the patterns and densities of the long-range states, and the terms in the Hamiltonian that can cause Feshbach resonances when the states cross threshold as a function of magnetic field. We present a case study of $^{40}$K$^{87}$Rb+$^{87}$Rb. We show multiple types of resonance due to long-range states with rotational and/or hyperfine excitation, and consider the likelihood of them existing at low to moderate magnetic fields

Prospects of forming ultracold molecules in double-Sigma states by magnetoassociation of alkali-metal atoms with Yb

We explore the feasibility of producing ultracold diatomic molecules with nonzero electric and magnetic dipole moments by magnetically associating two atoms, one with zero electron spin and one with nonzero spin. Feshbach resonances arise through the dependence of the hyperfine coupling on internuclear distance.We survey the Feshbach resonances in diatomic systems combining the nine stable alkali-metal isotopes with those of Yb, focusing on the illustrative examples of RbYb and CsYb. We show that the resonance widths may expressed as a product of physically comprehensible terms in the framework of Fermi’s golden rule. The resonance widths depend strongly on the background scattering length, which may be adjusted by selecting the Yb isotope, and on the hyperfine coupling constant and the magnetic field. In favorable cases the resonances may be over 100 mG wide

Reactions of ultracold alkali-metal dimers

We investigate the energetics of reactions involving pairs of alkali-metal dimers. Atom exchange reactions to form homonuclear dimers are energetically allowed for some but not all of the heteronuclear dimers. We carry out high-level electronic structure calculations on the potential energy surfaces of all the heteronuclear alkali-metal trimers and show that trimer formation reactions are always energetically forbidden for low-lying singlet states of the dimers. The results have important implications for the stability of quantum gases of alkali-metal dimers