Two-body transients in coupled atomic-molecular BECs

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the transient dynamics of coupled atomic-molecular Bose-Einstein condensates during photoassociation, identifying regimes with universal properties and connecting them to two-body theory, with implications for experiments on alkaline-earth atoms.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of the transient regimes in atomic-molecular BECs and links them to two-body theory, providing new insights into rogue dissociation phenomena.

Findings

Identification of three main dynamical regimes.

Connection of rogue dissociation to universal two-body properties.

Proposal for experimental exploration with alkaline-earth atoms.

Abstract

We discuss the dynamics of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate when pairs of atoms are converted into molecules by single-color photoassociation. Three main regimes are found and it is shown that they can be understood on the basis of time-dependent two-body theory. In particular, the so-called rogue dissociation regime [Phys. Rev. Lett., 88, 090403 (2002)], which has a density-dependent limit on the photoassociation rate, is identified with a transient regime of the two-atom dynamics exhibiting universal properties. Finally, we illustrate how these regimes could be explored by photoassociating condensates of alkaline-earth atoms.