Complexes formed in collisions between ultracold alkali-metal diatomic molecules and atoms

We explore the properties of 3-atom complexes of alkali-metal diatomic molecules with alkali-metal atoms, which may be formed in ultracold collisions. We estimate the densities of vibrational states at the energy of atom-diatom collisions, and find values ranging from 3.9 to 350 K$^{-1}$. However, this density does not account for electronic near-degeneracy or electron and nuclear spins. We consider the fine and hyperfine structure expected for such complexes. The Fermi contact interaction between electron and nuclear spins can cause spin exchange between atomic and molecular spins. It can drive inelastic collisions, with resonances of three distinct types, each with a characteristic width and peak height in the inelastic rate coefficient. Some of these resonances are broad enough to overlap and produce a background loss rate that is approximately proportional to the number of outgoing inelastic channels. Spin exchange can increase the density of states from which laser-induced loss may occur.

Molecule-molecule and atom-molecule collisions with ultracold RbCs molecules

Understanding ultracold collisions involving molecules is of fundamental importance for current experiments, where inelastic collisions typically limit the lifetime of molecular ensembles in optical traps. Here we present a broad study of optically trapped ultracold RbCs molecules in collisions with one another, in reactive collisions with Rb atoms, and in nonreactive collisions with Cs atoms. For experiments with RbCs alone, we show that by modulating the intensity of the optical trap, such that the molecules spend 75\% of each modulation cycle in the dark, we partially suppress collisional loss of the molecules. This is evidence for optical excitation of molecule pairs mediated via sticky collisions. We find that the suppression is less effective for molecules not prepared in the spin-stretched hyperfine ground state. This may be due either to longer lifetimes for complexes or to laser-free decay pathways. For atom-molecule mixtures, RbCs+Rb and RbCs+Cs, we demonstrate that the rate of collisional loss of molecules scales linearly with the density of atoms. This indicates that, in both cases, the loss of molecules is rate-limited by two-body atom-molecule processes. For both mixtures, we measure loss rates that are below the thermally averaged universal limit.

Observation of magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances in ultracold 23Na40K + 40K collisions

Resonances in ultracold collisions involving heavy molecules are difficult to simulate theoretically and have proven challenging to detect. Here we report the observation of magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances in ultracold collisions between potassium-40 (40K) atoms and sodium-23–potassium-40 (23Na40K) molecules in the rovibrational ground state. We prepare the atoms and molecules in various hyperfine levels of their ground states and observe the loss of molecules as a function of the magnetic field. The atom-molecule Feshbach resonances are identified by observing an enhancement of the loss. We have observed 11 resonances in the magnetic field range of 43 to 120 gauss. The observed atom-molecule Feshbach resonances at ultralow temperatures probe the three-body potential energy surface with exceptional resolution and will help to improve understanding of ultracold collisions.