Cold collisions of N (S-4) atoms and NH ((3)Sigma) molecules in magnetic fields

Zuchowski, Piotr S.; Hutson, Jeremy M.

doi:10.1039/c0cp01447h

Cold collisions of N (S-4) atoms and NH ((3)Sigma) molecules in magnetic fields

Zuchowski, Piotr S.; Hutson, Jeremy M.

Authors

Piotr S. Zuchowski

Professor Jeremy Hutson j.m.hutson@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

We calculate the interaction potential between N atoms and NH molecules and use it to investigate cold and ultracold collisions important for sympathetic cooling. The ratio of elastic to inelastic cross sections is large over a wide range of collision energy and magnetic field for most isotopic combinations, so that sympathetic cooling of NH molecules by N atoms is a good prospect. However, there are important effects due to a p-wave shape resonance that may inhibit cooling in some cases. We show that scaling the reduced mass used in the collision is approximately equivalent to scaling the interaction potential. We then explore the dependence of the scattering properties on the reduced mass and explain the resonant effects observed using angular-momentum-insensitive quantum defect theory.

Citation

Zuchowski, P. S., & Hutson, J. M. (2011). Cold collisions of N (S-4) atoms and NH ((3)Sigma) molecules in magnetic fields. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 13(9), 3669-3680. https://doi.org/10.1039/c0cp01447h

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2011
Deposit Date	Jun 19, 2013
Publicly Available Date	Jun 27, 2013
Journal	Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Print ISSN	1463-9076
Electronic ISSN	1463-9084
Publisher	Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	13
Issue	9
Pages	3669-3680
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1039/c0cp01447h