Abstract
We prepare mixtures of ultracold CaF molecules and Rb atoms in a magnetic trap and study their inelastic collisions. When the atoms are prepared in the spin-stretched state and the molecules in the spin-stretched component of the first rotationally excited state, they collide inelastically with a rate coefficient at temperatures near . We attribute this to rotation-changing collisions. When the molecules are in the ground rotational state we see no inelastic loss and set an upper bound on the spin-relaxation rate coefficient of with 95% confidence. We compare these measurements to the results of a single-channel loss model based on quantum defect theory. The comparison suggests a short-range loss parameter close to unity for rotationally excited molecules, but below 0.04 for molecules in the rotational ground state.
- Received 5 January 2021
- Revised 19 February 2021
- Accepted 4 March 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.153401
© 2021 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Laser-Cooled Atoms and Molecules Collide in a Trap
Published 13 April 2021
An experiment shows the circumstances under which ultracold atoms are quick to kick molecules out of a trap, providing clues for how to use atoms as a refrigerant for molecules.
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