Three-body parameter for Efimov states in 6Li

Huang, B.; O'Hara, K. M.; Grimm, R.; Hutson, J. M.; Petrov, D. S.

Abstract

We present a state-of-the-art reanalysis of experimental results on Efimov resonances in the three-fermion system of Li6. We discuss different definitions of the three-body parameter (3BP) for Efimov states and adopt a definition that excludes effects due to deviations from universal scaling for low-lying states. We develop a finite-temperature model for the case of three distinguishable fermions and apply it to the excited-state Efimov resonance to obtain the most accurate determination to date of the 3BP in an atomic three-body system. Our analysis of ground-state Efimov resonances in the same system yields values for the three-body parameter that are consistent with the excited-state result. Recent work has suggested that the reduced 3BP for atomic systems is a near-universal quantity, almost independent of the particular atom involved. However, the value of the 3BP obtained for Li6 is significantly (∼20%) different from that previously obtained from the excited-state resonance in Cs. The difference between these values poses a challenge for theory.

Citation

Huang, B., O'Hara, K. M., Grimm, R., Hutson, J. M., & Petrov, D. S. (2014). Three-body parameter for Efimov states in 6Li. Physical Review A, 90(4), Article 043636. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.90.043636

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 30, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 2, 2014
• Journal: Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Print ISSN: 1050-2947
• Electronic ISSN: 1094-1622
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 90
• Issue: 4
• Article Number: 043636
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.90.043636
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1420211