Radio Frequency Association of Efimov Trimers

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental observation of Efimov trimers in a three-fermion system using RF spectroscopy, confirming theoretical predictions and exploring universal three-body physics.

Contribution

First direct RF association and observation of Efimov trimers in a three-fermion system, validating theoretical models with non-universal corrections.

Findings

Observation of Efimov trimer binding energy consistent with theory

Successful RF association of three distinguishable fermions

Confirmation of universal three-body physics predictions

Abstract

The quantum-mechanical three-body problem is one of the fundamental challenges of few-body physics. When the two-body interactions become resonant, an infinite series of universal three-body bound states is predicted to occur, whose properties are determined by the strength of the two-body interactions. We report on the association and direct observation of a trimer state consisting of three distinguishable fermions using radio-frequency (RF) spectroscopy. The measurements of its binding energy are consistent with theoretical predictions which include non-universal corrections.