Feshbach resonances in mixtures of ultracold $^6$Li and $^{87}$Rb gases

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of two Feshbach resonances in ultracold $^6$Li and $^{87}$Rb mixtures, providing benchmarks for interaction potentials and exploring prospects for ultracold molecule creation.

Contribution

First observation of Feshbach resonances in ultracold $^6$Li and $^{87}$Rb mixtures, including a broad resonance at 1066.92 G and enhancement of a narrow p-wave resonance.

Findings

Feshbach resonances cause trap losses in $^6$Li due to inelastic collisions.

A broad resonance at 1066.92 G enables potential ultracold molecule formation.

Presence of $^{87}$Rb enhances Li-Li-Rb three-body collisions.

Abstract

We report on the observation of two Feshbach resonances in collisions between ultracold $^6$Li and $^{87}$Rb atoms in their respective hyperfine ground states $|F,m_F>=|1/2,1/2>$ and $|1,1>$. The resonances show up as trap losses for the $^6$Li cloud induced by inelastic Li-Rb-Rb three-body collisions. The magnetic field values where they occur represent important benchmarks for an accurate determination of the interspecies interaction potentials. A broad Feshbach resonance located at 1066.92 G opens interesting prospects for the creation of ultracold heteronuclear molecules. We furthermore observe a strong enhancement of the narrow p-wave Feshbach resonance in collisions of $^6$Li atoms at 158.55 G in the presence of a dense $^{87}$Rb cloud. The effect of the $^{87}$Rb cloud is to introduce Li-Li-Rb three-body collisions occurring at a higher rate than Li-Li-Li collisions.