Interaction of NH(X-3 Sigma(-)) molecules with rubidium atoms: Implications for sympathetic cooling and the formation of extremely polar molecules

Soldan, P.; Hutson, J.M.

Abstract

The Rb-NH interaction is investigated as a prototype for interactions between alkali-metal atoms and stable molecules. For spin-aligned Rb and NH that interact on a quartet surface (4A[prime][prime]), the interaction is relatively weak, with a well depth of 0.078 eV. However, there are also doublet surfaces of ion-pair character that are very much deeper (well depth 1.372 eV). They may be important for atom-molecule collision rates and offer the possibility of forming strongly dipolar molecules by photoassociation. Similar deeply bound ion-pair states are likely to exist for other alkali atom-molecule pairs.

Citation

Soldan, P., & Hutson, J. (2004). Interaction of NH(X-3 Sigma(-)) molecules with rubidium atoms: Implications for sympathetic cooling and the formation of extremely polar molecules. Physical Review Letters, 92(16), 163202-1. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.92.163202

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2004
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2007
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 20, 2010
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Print ISSN: 0031-9007
• Electronic ISSN: 1079-7114
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 92
• Issue: 16
• Pages: 163202-1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.92.163202