Atom loss and the formation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate by Feshbach resonance

V. A. Yurovsky, A. Ben-Reuven, P. S. Julienne, C. J. Williams

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Abstract

This paper discusses the two types of loss experiments conducted at MIT on sodium Bose-Einstein condensate, using a time-varying magnetic field in the proximity of a Feshbach resonance. The various processes discussed here involve a temporary formation of a molecular condensate. In the slow-sleep experiment the dominant loss mechanism is three-body deactivation by atom-molecule inelastic collisions. A best fit of an analytical expression for the atomic density obtained here to the MIT data yields a rate coefficient for deactivating atom-molecule collisions of 1.6 × 10-10 cm3/s. For the fast-sweep experiment an analytical expression, generalizing the Landau-Zener formula to a case of coupled nonlinear equations, is obtained. The combined effect of the two mechanisms is studied here, including molecule-molecule deactivating collisions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43605-43601
Number of pages5
JournalPhysical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Volume62
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2000

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