Abstract
We report on the observation of an elementary exchange process in an optically trapped ultracold sample of atoms and Feshbach molecules. We can magnetically control the energetic nature of the process and tune it from endoergic to exoergic, enabling the observation of a pronounced threshold behavior. In contrast to relaxation to more deeply bound molecular states, the exchange process does not lead to trap loss. We find excellent agreement between our experimental observations and calculations based on the solutions of three-body Schrödinger equation in the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. The high efficiency of the exchange process is explained by the halo character of both the initial and final molecular states.
- Received 10 November 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.053201
©2010 American Physical Society
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Ultracold controlled chemistry
Published 1 February 2010
New experiments extend chemical dynamics research to temperatures below microkelvin.
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