Spinor atom-molecule conversion via laser-induced three-body recombination

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores the coherent conversion of atoms to molecules in spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates via laser-induced three-body recombination, highlighting the roles of dark states, magnetization, and different regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a new theoretical framework for understanding atom-molecule conversion involving dark states and effective three-body processes in spinor condensates.

Findings

Stable atom-molecule pair creation under dark-state conditions.

Derivation of an effective non-rigid pendulum model for the system.

Identification of conditions leading to atom-molecule entanglement.

Abstract

We study theoretically several aspects of the dynamics of coherent atom-molecule conversion in spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates. Specifically, we discuss how for a suitable dark-state condition the interplay of spin-exchange collisions and photoassociation leads to the stable creation of an atom- molecule pairs from three initial spin-zero atoms. This process involves two two-body interactions and can be intuitively viewed as an effective three-body recombination. We investigate the relative roles of photoassociation and of the initial magnetization in the \resonant" case where the dark state condition is perfectly satisfied. We also consider the "non-resonant" regime, where that condition is satisfied either approximately {the so-called adiabatic case {or not at all. In the adiabatic case, we derive an effective non-rigid pendulum model that allows one to conveniently discuss the onset of an antiferromagnetic instability of an \atom-molecule pendulum," as well as large-amplitude pair oscillations and atom-molecule entanglement.