Quantum Degenerate Mixtures of Alkali and Alkaline-Earth-Like Atoms

Journal Article · Fri May 20 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.106.205304· OSTI ID:21538356

Hara, Hideaki; Takasu, Yosuke; Yamaoka, Yoshifumi ^[1]; Doyle, John M ^[2]; Takahashi, Yoshiro ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)
2. Harvard University, Department of Physics, Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

We realize simultaneous quantum degeneracy in mixtures consisting of the alkali and alkaline-earth-like atoms Li and Yb. This is accomplished within an optical trap by sympathetic cooling of the fermionic isotope {sup 6}Li with evaporatively cooled bosonic {sup 174}Yb and, separately, fermionic {sup 173}Yb. Using cross-thermalization studies, we also measure the elastic s-wave scattering lengths of both Li-Yb combinations, |a{sub {sup 6}Li-{sup 174}Yb}|=1.0{+-}0.2 nm and |a{sub {sup 6}Li-{sup 173}Yb}|=0.9{+-}0.2 nm. The equality of these lengths is found to be consistent with mass-scaling analysis. The quantum degenerate mixtures of Li and Yb, as realized here, can be the basis for creation of ultracold molecules with electron spin degrees of freedom, studies of novel Efimov trimers, and impurity probes of superfluid systems.

• OSTI ID: 21538356
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 20; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.205304; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COOLING
DEGREES OF FREEDOM
ELECTRONS
IMPURITIES
LITHIUM 6
S WAVES
SCATTERING LENGTHS
SPIN
SUPERFLUIDITY
THERMALIZATION
TRAPS
YTTERBIUM 173
YTTERBIUM 174
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
DIMENSIONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FERMIONS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LENGTH
LEPTONS
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PARTIAL WAVES
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
RARE EARTH NUCLEI
SLOWING-DOWN
STABLE ISOTOPES
YTTERBIUM ISOTOPES