Nonlocal state swapping of polar molecules in bilayers

Year: 2011

Authors: Pikovski A., Klawunn M., Recati A., Santos L.

Autors Affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Appelstrasse 2, D-30169 Hannover, Germany;
Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (INO-CNR) BEC Center and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento, I-38123 Povo, Italy

Abstract: The observation of significant dipolar effects in gases of ultracold polar molecules typically demands a strong external electric field to polarize the molecules. We show that, even in the absence of a significant polarization, dipolar effects may play a crucial role in the physics of polar molecules in bilayers, provided that the molecules in each layer are initially prepared in a different rotational state. Then, interlayer dipolar interactions result in a nonlocal swap of the rotational state between molecules in different layers, even for weak applied electric fields. The interlayer scattering due to the dipole-dipole interaction leads to a nontrivial dependence of the swapping rate on density, temperature, interlayer spacing, and population imbalance. For reactive molecules such as KRb, chemical recombination immediately follows a nonlocal swap and dominates the losses even for temperatures well above quantum degeneracy, and hence could be observed under current experimental conditions.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW A

Volume: 84 (6)      Pages from: 61605-1  to: 61605-4

More Information: We thank G. Ferrari, D. Jin, S. Ospelkaus, G. V. Shlyapnikov, and Y. Ye for enlightening discussions. We acknowledge support from the Center for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research QUEST, the DFG (SA 1031/6), and the ERC (QGBE grant).
KeyWords: Collisions
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.84.061605

Citations: 10
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