Electric-field control of atom-molecule Feshbach resonances

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how electric fields can be used to control atom-molecule Feshbach resonances in ultracold mixtures, enabling new spectroscopic and quantum state manipulation capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces electric-field tuning of atom-molecule Feshbach resonances, revealing specific trimer states and their electric-field dependent energies, which was not previously achieved.

Findings

Electric fields shift resonance positions systematically.

Electric fields reveal specific trimer bound states.

Response differs from isolated dimers, showing hindered rotation.

Abstract

Ultracold molecules provide opportunities for exploring quantum matter, chemical dynamics and information processing thanks to their rich interactions, which can be controlled by external fields. Magnetic fields tune interactions through Feshbach resonances, enabling the formation of ultracold dimers and triatomic molecules from atom-dimer collisions. Here we demonstrate electric-field control of atom-molecule Feshbach resonances. In mixtures of ground-state sodium-potassium molecules and potassium atoms, electric fields shift resonance positions systematically, revealing specific trimer bound states and their electric-field dependent energies. The response differs markedly from isolated dimers, showing hindered rotation of the molecular constituent near an atom. Electric fields therefore add an independent knob for atom-molecule resonances, open spectroscopic access to triatomic quantum states, and advance controlled polyatomic quantum matter.