Association of Efimov trimers from a three-atom continuum

TL;DR

This paper introduces an experimental method to create Efimov trimers from three atoms in a continuum, applying it to bosonic lithium to explore deviations from universal behavior and confirming results with alternative measurements.

Contribution

It presents a novel rf-association technique for Efimov trimers and provides the first quantitative analysis of non-universal effects in bosonic lithium.

Findings

Successful rf-association of Efimov trimers demonstrated

Quantitative deviations from universal Efimov theory observed

Agreement with atom-dimer resonance measurements confirmed

Abstract

We develop an experimental technique for rf-association of Efimov trimers from three-atoms continuum. We apply it to probe the lowest accessible Efimov energy level in bosonic lithium in the region where strong deviations from the universal behavior are expected, and provide quantitative study of this effect. Position of the Efimov resonance at the atom-dimer threshold, measured with a different experimental technique, concurs with the rf-association results.