Phase protection of Fano-Feshbach resonances

Alexander Blech, Yuval Shagam, Nicolas Hölsch, Prerna Paliwal, Wojciech Skomorowski, John W. Rosenberg, Natan Bibelnik, Oded Heber, Daniel M. Reich, Edvardas Narevicius and Christiane P. Koch ()
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Alexander Blech: Universität Kassel
Yuval Shagam: Weizmann Institute of Science
Nicolas Hölsch: Weizmann Institute of Science
Prerna Paliwal: Weizmann Institute of Science
Wojciech Skomorowski: Universität Kassel
John W. Rosenberg: Weizmann Institute of Science
Natan Bibelnik: Weizmann Institute of Science
Oded Heber: Weizmann Institute of Science
Daniel M. Reich: Universität Kassel
Edvardas Narevicius: Weizmann Institute of Science
Christiane P. Koch: Universität Kassel

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Decay of bound states due to coupling with free particle states is a general phenomenon occurring at energy scales from MeV in nuclear physics to peV in ultracold atomic gases. Such a coupling gives rise to Fano-Feshbach resonances (FFR) that have become key to understanding and controlling interactions—in ultracold atomic gases, but also between quasiparticles, such as microcavity polaritons. Their energy positions were shown to follow quantum chaotic statistics. In contrast, their lifetimes have so far escaped a similarly comprehensive understanding. Here, we show that bound states, despite being resonantly coupled to a scattering state, become protected from decay whenever the relative phase is a multiple of π. We observe this phenomenon by measuring lifetimes spanning four orders of magnitude for FFR of spin–orbit excited molecular ions with merged beam and electrostatic trap experiments. Our results provide a blueprint for identifying naturally long-lived states in a decaying quantum system.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14797-w

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