Evidence for Universal Four-Body States Tied to an Efimov Trimer

by F. Ferlaino, S. Knoop, M. Berninger, W. Harm, J. P. D’Incao, H.-C. Nägerl, R. Grimm

Abstract:

We report on the measurement of four-body recombination rate coefficients in an atomic gas. Our results obtained with an ultracold sample of cesium atoms at negative scattering lengths show a resonant enhancement of losses and provide strong evidence for the existence of a pair of four-body states, which is strictly connected to Efimov trimers via universal relations. Our findings confirm recent theoretical predictions and demonstrate the enrichment of the Efimov scenario when a fourth particle is added to the generic three-body problem.

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Reference:

Evidence for Universal Four-Body States Tied to an Efimov Trimer,
F. Ferlaino, S. Knoop, M. Berninger, W. Harm, J. P. D’Incao, H.-C. Nägerl, R. Grimm,
Phys. Rev. Lett., volume 102, 2009.

Bibtex Entry:

@article{PhysRevLett.102.140401,
  title = {Evidence for Universal Four-Body States Tied to an Efimov Trimer},
  author = {Ferlaino, F. and Knoop, S. and Berninger, M. and Harm, W. and D'Incao, J. P. and N"agerl, H.-C. and Grimm, R.},
  journal = {Phys. Rev. Lett.},
  volume = {102},
  issue = {14},
  pages = {140401},
  numpages = {4},
  year = {2009},
  month = {Apr},
  abstract = {We report on the measurement of four-body recombination rate coefficients in an atomic gas. Our results obtained with an ultracold sample of cesium atoms at negative scattering lengths show a resonant enhancement of losses and provide strong evidence for the existence of a pair of four-body states, which is strictly connected to Efimov trimers via universal relations. Our findings confirm recent theoretical predictions and demonstrate the enrichment of the Efimov scenario when a fourth particle is added to the generic three-body problem.},
  publisher = {American Physical Society},
  doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.140401},
  url = {http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.140401},
  arXiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/0903.1276}
}