Comment on "Measurement of a large Chemical Reaction Rate between Ultracold Closed-Shell ^{40}Ca Atoms and Open-Shell ^{174}Yb^{+} Ions Held in a Hybrid Atom-Ion Trap"

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the measured chemical reaction rate between ultracold calcium atoms and ytterbium ions, finding a significant discrepancy between theoretical estimates and experimental results, and discusses potential reasons for this gap.

Contribution

It provides an estimation of the radiative quenching rate and highlights a large discrepancy with experimental data, prompting further investigation into reaction mechanisms.

Findings

Estimated quenching rate underestimates experimental value by 5 orders of magnitude

Identifies a significant gap between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements

Suggests possible explanations for the discrepancy in reaction rates

Abstract

We estimate the radiative quenching rate of the $^{40}$Ca - $^{174}$Yb$^{+}$ molecular ion and find that it under-estimates the value reported in recent experiments by about 5 orders of magnitude. We comment on possible explanations for this large discrepancy.