Atom-dimer scattering for confined ultracold fermion gases

Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Oct 22;93(17):170403. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.170403. Epub 2004 Oct 22.

Abstract

We solve the three-body problem of a quasi-one-dimensional ultracold Fermi gas with parabolic confinement length a (perpendicular) and 3D scattering length a. On the two-body level, there is a Feshbach-type resonance at a (perpendicular)/a approximately 1.46, and a dimer state for arbitrary a (perpendicular)/a. The three-body problem is shown to be universal, and described by the atom-dimer scattering length a(ad) and a range parameter b(ad). In the dimer limit a (perpendicular)/a>>1, we find a repulsive zero-range atom-dimer interaction. For a (perpendicular)/a<<-1, however, the potential has long range, with a(ad)>0 and b(ad)>>a(ad). There is no trimer state, and despite a(ad)=0 at a( perpendicular)/a approximately 2.6, there is no resonance enhancement of the interaction.