Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-15-2025
Abstract
We present a fully quantum mechanical description of a free Li atom scattering from a trapped Yb+ ion in one dimension. By reformulating the system in polar coordinates and employing the adiabatic representation, we extract a set of coupled adiabatic potentials representing the atom interacting with the ion in different trap states. In an approach similar to quantum defect theory, we leverage the vast difference in energy scale between the interaction, the trap, and the scattering energy to encapsulate the short-range atom-ion scattering behavior in a single phase parameter. The presence of trapped (Yb Li)+ molecular-ion states leads to a series of roughly evenly spaced resonances in the scattering cross section. The predicted distribution of resonances at low collision energies is at odds with the expectation of quantum chaos and the Bohigas-Giannoni-Schmit conjecture.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/jgz3-xrvc
Publisher
American Physical Society
ISSN
2469-9934
Repository Citation
Rittenhouse, S. T., Oghittu, L., Safavi-Naini, A., Gerritsma, R., Graf, A. D., & Mehta, N. P. (2025). Ultracold collisions of a neutral atom with a trapped ion in one dimension. Physical Review A, 112(2). https://doi.org/10.1103/jgz3-xrvc
Publication Information
Physical Review A.