Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 4: Cold Molecules I

MO 4.1: Talk

Monday, March 12, 2012, 14:00–14:15, V38.03

Statistical multichannel quantum defect theory for resonant scattering of ultracold atoms and molecules — •Michael Mayle, Brandon P. Ruzic, and John L. Bohn — JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, Colorado, USA

With the advent of state-resolved, ultracold samples of ground state molecules, novel opportunities arise to explore the physics of cold and ultracold molecular collisions. We revisit ultracold atom-molecule scattering by employing a multichannel quantum defect theory treatment that makes a clean distinction between the physics of the complex, which is pertinent when the colliding species are close together, and the physics of the long-range scattering, which is sensitive to such things as the hyperfine states of the atoms and molecule, the low collision energy, and any applied electromagnetic fields. This allows us to describe long-range interactions by means of a few quantum defect parameters while for the short-range part we apply the methods of random matrix theory. Uniting these two techniques, we can assess the influence of highly-resonant scattering in the threshold regime, and in particular its dependence on the hyperfine state selected for the collision.