München 2004 – scientific programme

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Q: Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 36: Poster Quanteneffekte

Q 36.2: Poster

Thursday, March 25, 2004, 14:00–16:00, Schellingstr. 3

Experimental investigations aiming on the manipulation of the sodium scattering length — •St. Falke, Chr. Samuelis, H. Knöckel, and E. Tiemann — Institut für Quantenoptik, Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany

Spectroscopy of dimers has been successfully applied to describe scattering processes of the corresponding atoms by determining the scattering length from molecular potentials[1]. This property can be modified by magnetic fields in a controlled way[2], especially in the neighborhood of Feshbach resonances. Moreover, this led to the coherent production of ultra-cold molecules from quantum degenerate gases[3]. But, this tricky approach cannot be applied for atoms with vanishing nuclear spin, e.g., many alkaline earth isotopes.

Having demonstrated the possible optically induced elimination of levels of an electronic state correlated to the 3s+3p asymptote of Na₂[4], we now investigate a recipe for the manipulation of scattering lengths by optical fields[5] in a Na₂ beam experiment by systematically measuring level shifts induced by a laser (off resonant from atomic transitions) on weakly bound ground state levels.

[1] Chr. Samuelis et.al.: Phys. Rev. A 63, 012710 (2001)

[2] T. Laue et.al.: Phys. Rev. A 65, 023412 (2002), T. Weber et.al.: Science 299, 232 (2003)

[3] J. Herbig et.al.: Science 301, 1510 (2003)

[4] Chr. Samuelis et.al.: Eur. Phys. J. D 26, 307 (2003)

[5] P.O. Fedichev et.al.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 2913 (1996)