English

Quantum control of ion-atom collisions beyond the ultracold regime

Atomic Physics 2025-02-19 v2 Quantum Gases Quantum Physics

Abstract

Tunable scattering resonances are crucial for controlling atomic and molecular systems. However, their use has so far been limited to ultracold temperatures. These conditions remain hard to achieve for most hybrid trapped ion-atom systems -- a prospective platform for quantum technologies and fundamental research. Here we measure inelastic collision probabilities for Sr++Rb{\text{Sr}^++\text{Rb}} and use them to calibrate a comprehensive theoretical model of ion-atom collisions. Our theoretical results, compared with experimental observations, confirm that quantum interference effects persist to the multiple-partial-wave regime, leading to the pronounced state and mass dependence of the collision rates. Using our model, we go beyond interference and identify a rich spectrum of Feshbach resonances at moderate magnetic fields with the Rb atom in its lower (f=1f=1) hyperfine state, which persist at temperatures as high as 1 mK. Future observation of these predicted resonances should allow precise control of the short-range dynamics in Sr++Rb{\text{Sr}^+}+{\text{Rb}} collisions under unprecedentedly warm conditions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2407.06073,
  title  = {Quantum control of ion-atom collisions beyond the ultracold regime},
  author = {Maks Z. Walewski and Matthew D. Frye and Or Katz and Meirav Pinkas and Roee Ozeri and Michał Tomza},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.06073},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

10 pages, 3 figures, and Supplementary information (including 3 supplementary figures and 1 supplementary data as an .xlsx file)