ABSTRACT
Feshbach association of ultracold molecules using narrow resonances requires exquisite control of the applied magnetic field. Here, we present a magnetic field control system to deliver magnetic fields of over 1000 G with ppm-level precision integrated into an ultracold-atom experimental setup. We combine a battery-powered, current-stabilized power supply with active feedback stabilization of the magnetic field using fluxgate magnetic field sensors. As a real-world test, we perform microwave spectroscopy of ultracold Rb atoms and demonstrate an upper limit on our magnetic field stability of 2.4(3) mG at 1050 G [2.3(3) ppm relative] as determined from the spectral feature.
Subject(s)
Electric Power Supplies , Magnetic Fields , VibrationABSTRACT
We report on spectroscopic studies of hot and ultracold RbSr molecules, and combine the results in an analysis that allows us to fit a potential energy curve (PEC) for the X(1)2Σ+ ground state bridging the short-to-long-range domains. The ultracold RbSr molecules are created in a µK sample of Rb and Sr atoms and probed by two-colour photoassociation spectroscopy. The data yield the long-range dispersion coefficients C6 and C8, along with the total number of supported bound levels. The hot RbSr molecules are created in a 1000 K gas mixture of Rb and Sr in a heat-pipe oven and probed by thermoluminescence and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. We compare the hot molecule data with spectra we simulated using previously published PECs determined by three different ab initio theoretical methods. We identify several band heads corresponding to radiative decay from the B(2)2Σ+ state to the deepest bound levels of X(1)2Σ+. We determine a mass-scaled high-precision model for X(1)2Σ+ by fitting all data using a single fit procedure. The corresponding PEC is consistent with all data, thus spanning short-to-long internuclear distances and bridging an energy gap of about 75% of the potential well depth, still uncharted by any experiment. We benchmark previous ab initio PECs against our results, and give the PEC fit parameters for both X(1)2Σ+ and B(2)2Σ+ states. As first outcomes of our analysis, we calculate the s-wave scattering properties for all stable isotopic combinations and corroborate the locations of Fano-Feshbach resonances between alkali Rb and closed-shell Sr atoms recently observed [V. Barbéet al., Nat. Phys., 2018, 14, 881]. These results and more generally our strategy should greatly contribute to the generation of ultracold alkali-alkaline-earth dimers, whose applications range from quantum simulation to state-controlled quantum chemistry.
ABSTRACT
Starting from a microscopic model of the atomic transport via vacancies and interstitials in alloys, a self-consistent mean field (SCMF) kinetic theory yields the phenomenological coefficients Lij. In this theory, kinetic correlations are accounted for through a set of effective interactions within a non-equilibrium distribution function of the system. The introduction of a master equation describing the evolution with time of the distribution function and its moments leads to general self-consistent kinetic equations. The Lij of a face centered cubic alloy are calculated using the kinetic equations of Nastar (M. Nastar, Philos. Mag., 2005, 85, 3767, ref. 1) derived from a microscopic broken bond model of the vacancy jump frequency. A first approximation leads to an analytical expression of the Lij and a second approximation to a better agreement with the Monte Carlo simulations. A change of sign of the Lij is studied as a function of the microscopic parameters of the jump frequency. The Lij of a cubic centered alloy obtained for the complex diffusion mechanism of the dumbbell configuration of the interstitial (V. Barbe and M. Nastar, Philos. Mag., 2006, in press, ref. 2) are used to study the effect of an on-site rotation of the dumbbell on the transport.
