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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. A » Volume 79 » Issue 6
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Phys. Rev. A 79, 060703(R) (2009) [4 pages]

Microwave-laser-field modification of molecular collisions at low temperatures

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S. V. Alyabyshev1, T. V. Tscherbul2, and R. V. Krems1
1Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z1
2Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms and Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Received 2 December 2008; revised 18 May 2009; published 12 June 2009

We present a rigorous study of low-temperature collisions of polar molecules and atoms in a microwave laser field. Our calculations show that inelastic relaxation of molecules in a microwave cavity may occur through collision-induced absorption of photons stimulated by the anisotropy of the atom-molecule interaction potential. Our results indicate that molecular collisions at temperatures below 1 K can be efficiently manipulated with microwave laser fields of moderate strength.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.060703
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevA.79.060703
PACS:
34.50.−s, 33.20.−t
 
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