Zeeman relaxation induced by spin-orbit coupling in cold antimony-helium collisionsстатья
Статья опубликована в высокорейтинговом журнале
Информация о цитировании статьи получена из
Web of Science,
Scopus
Статья опубликована в журнале из списка Web of Science и/или Scopus
Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 25 сентября 2013 г.
Аннотация:We investigate Zeeman relaxation in cold Sb($^4$S$^\circ_{3/2}$)–He collisions in a magnetic field. Ensembles of > 10$^{13}$ laser-ablated Sb atoms are cooled in cryogenic $^4$He buffer gas to 800 mK and inelastic collisions are observed to equilibrate the $m_J$-state distribution to the translational temperature. The ratio $\gamma$ of momentum transfer to inelastic collision rates is measured to be $\le 9.1 \times 10^2$. We also perform quantum scattering calculations of Sb–$^4$He collisions, based on ab initio interaction potentials, that demonstrate significant anisotropy of the ground state induced by the spin-orbit interaction. Agreement is obtained between theory and experiment with a $\approx$ 10 \% increase in the ab initio potential depth. This work suggests that buffer-gas-cooled pnictogen atoms lighter than Sb can be loaded into a magnetic trap.