Three-body recombination of 6Li atoms with large negative scattering lengths.
The three-body recombination rate at threshold for distinguishable atoms with large negative pair scattering lengths is calculated in the zero-range approximation. The only parameters in this limit are the 3 scattering lengths and the Efimov parameter, which can be complex-valued. We provide semianalytic expressions for the cases of 2 or 3 equal scattering lengths, and we obtain numerical results for the general case of 3 different scattering lengths. Our general result is applied to the three lowest hyperfine states of 6Li atoms. Comparisons with recent experiments provide indications of loss features associated with Efimov trimers near the 3-atom threshold.
Braaten
Eric
E
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Hammer
H-W
HW
Kang
Daekyoung
D
Platter
Lucas
L