Scattering lengths in isotopologues of the RbYb system release_2utfa3m745bipjwgyuwfs62efy

Abstract

We model the binding energies of rovibrational levels of the RbYb molecule using experimental data from two-color photoassociation spectroscopy in mixtures of ultracold ^87Rb with various Yb isotopes. The model uses a theoretical potential based on state-of-the-art ab initio potentials, further improved by least-squares fitting to the experimental data. We have fixed the number of bound states supported by the potential curve, so that the model is mass scaled, that is, it accurately describes the bound state energies for all measured isotopic combinations. Such a model enables an accurate prediction of the s-wave scattering lengths of all isotopic combinations of the RbYb system. The reduced mass range is broad enough to cover the full scattering lengths range from -∞ to +∞. For example, the ^87Rb^174Yb system is characterized by a large positive scattering length of +880(120) a.u., while ^87Rb^173Yb has a=-626(88) a.u.. On the other hand ^87Rb^170Yb has a very small scattering length of -14.5(1.8) a.u. confirmed by the pair's extremely low thermalization rate. For isotopic combinations including ^85Rb the variation of the interspecies scattering lengths is much smoother ranging from +39.0(1.6) a.u. for ^85Rb^176Yb to +230(10) a.u. in the case of ^85Rb^168Yb. Hyperfine corrections to these scattering lengths are also given. We further complement the fitted potential with interaction parameters calculated from alternative methods. The recommended value of the van der Waals coefficient is C_6=2837(13) a.u. and is in agreement and more precise than the current state-of-the-art theoretical predictions (S. G. Porsev, M. S. Safronova, A. Derevianko, and C.W. Clark, arXiv:1307.2654 (2013)).
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