JOINT ICTP/SISSA STATISTICAL PHYSICS SEMINAR: " Three body physics with ultracold atoms: the Efimov effect and P-wave Feshbach resonances for spin polarized fermions "

[Statistical Physics Group]

JOINT ICTP/SISSA STATISTICAL PHYSICS SEMINAR



Tuesday, 3 February 2009   -    12:30 hrs



Lecture Room D

SISSA Main Building



Mattia JONA-LASINIO

( LENS, Italy )



" Three body physics with ultracold atoms: the Efimov effect and P- 
wave Feshbach resonances for spin polarized fermions "



Abstract



In the first part of the talk I will very briefly review the basic  
facts about scattering theory in the S-wave and P-wave channel. I  
will introduce the notions needed to describe low energy collisions  
in ultracold atoms: scattering amplitude, scattering length,  
scattering volume, true range and effective range of the interaction.  
I will then review the Efimov effect for a bosonic system.

The main part of the talk will be devoted to the three-body problem  
for polarized fermions, close to a P-wave Feshbach resonance. I will  
present a two channel model useful to describe the P-wave  
interaction. Through numerical and analytical solutions of the model,  
I obtain predictions for all the physical quantities relevant for  
present experiments: low energy elastic and inelastic scattering  
properties, existence and lifetime of weakly bound trimers, atom loss  
rate through the three-body recombination mechanism. The model also  
excludes the presence of an Efimov effect in the P-wave channel.

Applications and future developments will conclude the talk.