Long range interaction coefficients for ytterbium dimers

TL;DR

This paper calculates the long-range interaction coefficients for ytterbium dimers, including van der Waals coefficients, using a new methodology that accounts for excited states and their decay channels.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for accurately evaluating van der Waals coefficients of excited state dimers, specifically applied to ytterbium atom pairs.

Findings

Calculated C_6 coefficients for Yb-Yb ^1S_0+^3P_{0,1} and ^3P_0+^3P_0 dimers.

Estimated uncertainties in polarizabilities and interaction coefficients.

Provided data relevant for experimental studies of ytterbium dimers.

Abstract

We evaluate the electric-dipole and electric-quadrupole static and dynamic polarizabilities for the 6s^2 ^1S_0, 6s6p ^3P_0, and 6s6p ^3P_1 states and estimate their uncertainties. A methodology is developed for an accurate evaluation of the van der Waals coefficients of dimers involving excited state atoms with strong decay channel to the ground state. This method is used for evaluation of the long range interaction coefficients of particular experimental interest, including the C_6 coefficients for the Yb-Yb ^1S_0+^3P_{0,1} and ^3P_0+^3P_0 dimers and C_8 coefficients for the ^1S_0+^1S_0 and ^1S_0+^3P_1 dimers.