---
_id: '1033'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Systems of three interacting particles are notorious for their complex physical
behaviour. A landmark theoretical result in few-body quantum physics is Efimov\'s
prediction1,2 of a universal set of bound trimer states appearing for three identical
bosons with a resonant two-body interaction. Counterintuitively, these states
even exist in the absence of a corresponding two-body bound state. Since the formulation
of Efimov\'s problem in the context of nuclear physics 35 years ago, it has attracted
great interest in many areas of physics3-8. However, the observation of Efimov
quantum states has remained an elusive goal3,5. Here we report the observation
of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold gas of caesium atoms. The resonance occurs
in the range of large negative two-body scattering lengths, arising from the coupling
of three free atoms to an Efimov trimer. Experimentally, we observe its signature
as a giant three-body recombination loss9,10 when the strength of the two-body
interaction is varied. We also detect a minimum 9,11,12 in the recombination loss
for positive scattering lengths, indicating destructive interference of decay
pathways. Our results confirm central theoretical predictions of Efimov physics
and represent a starting point with which to explore the universal properties
of resonantly interacting few-body systems7. While Feshbach resonances13,14 have
provided the key to control quantum-mechanical interactions on the two-body level,
Efimov resonances connect ultracold matter15 to the world of few-body quantum
phenomena.
acknowledgement: "We thank E. Braaten, C. Greene, B. Esry, H. Hammer and T. Ko ̈hler
for many discussions and E. Kneringer for support regarding the data analysis. We
acknowledge support by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) within Spezialforschungsbereich
15 and within the Lise Meitner programme, and by the\r\nEuropean Union in the frame
of the TMR networks ‘Cold Molecules’ and ‘FASTNet’. M.M. is supported within the
Doktorandenprogramm of the Austrian\r\nAcademy of Sciences."
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Tobias
full_name: Kraemer, Tobias
last_name: Kraemer
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Mark, Michael
last_name: Mark
- first_name: Philipp
full_name: Waldburger, Philipp
last_name: Waldburger
- first_name: Johann G
full_name: Danzl, Johann G
id: 42EFD3B6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Danzl
orcid: 0000-0001-8559-3973
- first_name: Cheng
full_name: Chin, Cheng
last_name: Chin
- first_name: Bastian
full_name: Engeser, Bastian
last_name: Engeser
- first_name: Adam
full_name: Lange, Adam
last_name: Lange
- first_name: Karl
full_name: Pilch, Karl
last_name: Pilch
- first_name: Antti
full_name: Jaakkola, Antti
last_name: Jaakkola
- first_name: Hanns
full_name: Nägerl, Hanns
last_name: Nägerl
- first_name: Rudolf
full_name: Grimm, Rudolf
last_name: Grimm
citation:
ama: Kraemer T, Mark M, Waldburger P, et al. Evidence for Efimov quantum states
in an ultracold gas of caesium atoms. Nature. 2006;440(7082):315-318. doi:10.1038/nature04626
apa: Kraemer, T., Mark, M., Waldburger, P., Danzl, J. G., Chin, C., Engeser, B.,
… Grimm, R. (2006). Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of
caesium atoms. Nature. Nature Publishing Group. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04626
chicago: Kraemer, Tobias, Michael Mark, Philipp Waldburger, Johann G Danzl, Cheng
Chin, Bastian Engeser, Adam Lange, et al. “Evidence for Efimov Quantum States
in an Ultracold Gas of Caesium Atoms.” Nature. Nature Publishing Group,
2006. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04626.
ieee: T. Kraemer et al., “Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold
gas of caesium atoms,” Nature, vol. 440, no. 7082. Nature Publishing Group,
pp. 315–318, 2006.
ista: Kraemer T, Mark M, Waldburger P, Danzl JG, Chin C, Engeser B, Lange A, Pilch
K, Jaakkola A, Nägerl H, Grimm R. 2006. Evidence for Efimov quantum states in
an ultracold gas of caesium atoms. Nature. 440(7082), 315–318.
mla: Kraemer, Tobias, et al. “Evidence for Efimov Quantum States in an Ultracold
Gas of Caesium Atoms.” Nature, vol. 440, no. 7082, Nature Publishing Group,
2006, pp. 315–18, doi:10.1038/nature04626.
short: T. Kraemer, M. Mark, P. Waldburger, J.G. Danzl, C. Chin, B. Engeser, A. Lange,
K. Pilch, A. Jaakkola, H. Nägerl, R. Grimm, Nature 440 (2006) 315–318.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:49:47Z
date_published: 2006-03-16T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2021-01-12T06:47:48Z
day: '16'
doi: 10.1038/nature04626
extern: '1'
intvolume: ' 440'
issue: '7082'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0512394
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: None
page: 315 - 318
publication: Nature
publication_status: published
publisher: Nature Publishing Group
publist_id: '6356'
status: public
title: Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of caesium atoms
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 440
year: '2006'
...