Three-body recombination at finite energy within an optical model

TL;DR

This paper models three-boson recombination at finite energy using an optical potential approach, successfully matching experimental data and suggesting potential universality in the recombination process.

Contribution

It introduces an optical model with an imaginary potential to describe three-body recombination at finite energy, providing a simple parametrization and insights into universality.

Findings

Reproduces experimental recombination data with an optical model.

Provides a parametrization of recombination rate as a function of scattering length and energy.

Suggests possible universality in the recombination process itself.

Abstract

We investigate three-boson recombination of equal mass systems as function of (negative) scattering length, mass, finite energy, and finite temperature. An optical model with an imaginary potential at short distance reproduces experimental recombination data and allows us to provide a simple parametrization of the recombination rate as function of scattering length and energy. Using the two-body van der Waals length as unit we find that the imaginary potential range and also the potential depth agree to within thirty percent for Lithium and Cesium atoms. As opposed to recent studies suggesting universality of the threshold for bound state formation, our results suggest that the recombination process itself could have universal features.