Inducing an optical Feshbach resonance via stimulated Raman coupling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to induce optical Feshbach resonances using stimulated Raman coupling, allowing control over atomic interactions in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Contribution

The work demonstrates a novel coherent Raman-based technique to manipulate atomic scattering lengths in ultracold gases.

Findings

Controlled variation of scattering length via laser parameters

Experimental and theoretical agreement on scattering length dependence

Potential applications in quantum simulation and control

Abstract

We demonstrate a novel method of inducing an optical Feshbach resonance based on a coherent free-bound stimulated Raman transition. In our experiment atoms in a Rb87 Bose-Einstein condensate are exposed to two phase-locked Raman laser beams which couple pairs of colliding atoms to a molecular ground state. By controlling the power and relative detuning of the two laser beams, we can change the atomic scattering length considerably. The dependence of scattering length on these parameters is studied experimentally and modelled theoretically.