Abstract
Long range atomic interactions play a crucial role in ultracold atomic gases. Small changes in these interactions can produce large changes in both elastic and inelastic collision cross sections. Also, such interactions enter into the description of a Bose-Einstein condensate through a single parameter, the scattering length a. We are carrying out a study of interacting Rb atoms using photoassociation spectroscopy. This method provides detailed information on the density of atomic pairs as a function of internuclear separation, energy, and angular momentum state. Using this information we have determined the two body triplet scattering length to be aT = + 109 +/- 10 a0 for 87Rb, and - 80 > aT > - 1200 a0 for 85Rb.
© 1996 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
C. C. Bradley, C. A. Sacked, and R. G. Hulet
QWD4 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1996
Paul. S. Julienne
QWD3 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1996
P. L. Gould, V. Sanchez-Villicana, S. D. Gensemer, W. Süptitz, K. Y. N. Tan, A. Kumarakrishnan, T. P. Dinneen, H. Wang, and W. C. Stwalley
QTuC4 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1996