Photoassociation spectroscopy of ultracold metastable ^3He dimers

TL;DR

This paper investigates the bound states of ultracold metastable ^3He dimers using ab initio potentials, identifying levels suitable for experimental observation through detailed theoretical calculations.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of ^3He dimer bound states, including effects of couplings, and suggests specific levels for experimental detection.

Findings

Identified purely long-range levels suitable for experiments.

Suggested 30 short-range levels near five asymptotes for investigation.

Assessed the observability of levels based on coupling and character.

Abstract

The bound states of the fermionic ^3He(2 ^3S_1)+ ^3He(2 ^3P_j)system, where j=0,1,2, are investigated using the recently available ab initio short-range ${}^{1,3,5}\Sigma^{+}_{g,u}$ and ${}^{1,3,5}\Pi_{g,u}$ potentials computed by Deguilhem et al. (J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys., 2009, 42, 015102). Single-channel and multichannel calculations have been undertaken in order to investigate the effects of Coriolis and non-adiabatic couplings. The possible experimental observability of the theoretical levels is assessed using criteria based upon the short-range character of each level and their coupling to metastable ground states. Purely long-range levels have been identified and 30 short-range levels near five asymptotes are suggested for experimental investigation.