Abstract
We study the elastic scattering length and inelastic decay rate associated with collisions of and atoms in different hyperfine states: one with atoms in the |f=2,=2〉 and one with atoms in the |f=1,=-1〉 state. For Na the real part of the scattering length for |22〉+|1-1〉 collisions is predicted to be positive and equal to 65±5 Bohr length units for small B. The zero-temperature low-field decay rate is of the order of a typical exchange rate: =(1.5±0.7) , showing that a two-condensate experiment is not feasible for a Na gas sample in a static magnetic trap. For the case of Rb atoms the present knowledge of the singlet interaction does not allow a similar calculation. The extreme suppression of demonstrated by a recent experiment is shown to be very restrictive for the value of the singlet accumulated phase.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.55.R1589
©1997 American Physical Society