TY - JOUR
AU - A. Avdeenkov
AU - John Bohn
AB - Collision cross sections and rate constants between two ground-state oxygen molecules are investigated theoretically at translational energies below ∼1K and in zero magnetic field. We present calculations for elastic and spin-changing inelastic collision rates for different isotopic combinations of oxygen atoms as a prelude to understanding their collisional stability in ultracold magnetic traps. A numerical analysis has been made in the framework of a rigid-rotor model that accounts fully for the singlet, triplet, and quintet potential-energy surfaces in this system. The results offer insights into the effectiveness of evaporative cooling and the properties of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates, as well as estimates of collisional lifetimes in magnetic traps. Specifically, 17 O 2 looks like a good candidate for ultracold studies, while 16 O 2 is unlikely to survive evaporative cooling. Since 17 O 2 is representative of a wide class of molecules that are paramagnetic in their ground state we conclude that many molecules can be successfully magnetically trapped at ultralow temperatures.
BT - Physical Review A
DA - 2001-10
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevA.64.052703
N2 - Collision cross sections and rate constants between two ground-state oxygen molecules are investigated theoretically at translational energies below ∼1K and in zero magnetic field. We present calculations for elastic and spin-changing inelastic collision rates for different isotopic combinations of oxygen atoms as a prelude to understanding their collisional stability in ultracold magnetic traps. A numerical analysis has been made in the framework of a rigid-rotor model that accounts fully for the singlet, triplet, and quintet potential-energy surfaces in this system. The results offer insights into the effectiveness of evaporative cooling and the properties of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates, as well as estimates of collisional lifetimes in magnetic traps. Specifically, 17 O 2 looks like a good candidate for ultracold studies, while 16 O 2 is unlikely to survive evaporative cooling. Since 17 O 2 is representative of a wide class of molecules that are paramagnetic in their ground state we conclude that many molecules can be successfully magnetically trapped at ultralow temperatures.
PY - 2001
EP - 052703
T2 - Physical Review A
TI - Ultracold collisions of oxygen molecules
VL - 64
SN - 1050-2947
ER -