Suppression of Zeeman relaxation in cold collisions of {sup 2}P{sub 1/2} atoms

Journal Article · Thu Oct 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.80.040701· OSTI ID:21316319

Tscherbul, T V; Dalgarno, A ^[1]; Buchachenko, A A ^[2]; Lu, M -J; Weinstein, J D ^[3]

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1. Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
2. Department of Chemistry, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation)
3. Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557 (United States)

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of angular momentum depolarization in cold collisions of {sup 2}P atoms in the presence of an external magnetic field. We show that collision-induced Zeeman relaxation of Ga({sup 2}P{sub 1/2}) and In({sup 2}P{sub 1/2}) atoms in cold {sup 4}He gas is dramatically suppressed compared to atoms in {sup 2}P{sub 3/2} states. Using rigorous quantum-scattering calculations based on ab initio interaction potentials, we demonstrate that Zeeman transitions in collisions of atoms in {sup 2}P{sub 1/2} electronic states occur via couplings to the {sup 2}P{sub 3/2} state induced by the anisotropy of the interaction potential. Our results suggest the feasibility of sympathetic cooling and magnetic trapping of {sup 2}P{sub 1/2}-state atoms, such as halogens, thereby opening up exciting areas of research in precision spectroscopy and cold-controlled chemistry.

• OSTI ID: 21316319
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 80; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ACCURACY
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
ANISOTROPY
ATOM-ATOM COLLISIONS
ATOMS
CHEMISTRY
GALLIUM
HALOGENS
HELIUM
HELIUM 4
INDIUM
INTERACTIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
POTENTIALS
RELAXATION
SCATTERING
SPECTROSCOPY
TRAPPING
ZEEMAN EFFECT