arXiv subjects

Pascal Naidon

Publications and source records attributed to Pascal Naidon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Proposal of quantum arrival-time measurement with a Bose-Einstein condensate

This work shows how a Bose-Einstein condensate of ultracold atoms could be used to address a long-standing question in quantum theory: how much time does it take for a particle to reach a detector? To this end, we propose a realistic experimental setup, whose key idea is not to measure arrival times directly, but the arrival flux on the detector as a function of its position. This novel approach not only solves practical issues with having a detector close to the system, but also results in signals that allow to unambiguously distinguish different theoretical predictions. This proposal raises prospects for resolving the decades-old debate on this fundamental issue.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Arrival times of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate

The times of flight of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate are theoretically investigated in the experimentally unexplored regime corresponding to detection close to the trap of the condensate. In this regime, there is no consensus on how to calculate the distribution of times of arrival onto the detector. For non-interacting particles, distinct theoretical predictions have been made in the past. This work analyses how these predictions are modified for an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate. For this purpose, a time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation is solved analytically and numerically.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Stabilization of three-body resonances to bound states in a continuum

Three-body resonances are ubiquitous in quantum few-body physics and are characterized by a finite lifetime before decaying into continuum states of their composing subsystems. In this work we present a theoretical study on the possibility to stabilize three-body resonances to so-called bound states in a continuum: resonances with vanishing width that do not decay. Within a two-channel approach we unveil the underlying mechanism and show how the lifetime can be made infinitely long by a continuous tuning of system parameters. The validity of our theory is illustrated in two different examples: a mass-imbalanced system in one dimension and a system of three identical bosons in three dimensions, relevant to Efimov physics. Crucially, for the latter we find that one of the parameters that can be tuned to achieve a three-body bound state in a continuum is an external magnetic field, a common tunable variable in cold-atom experiments. Due to the generality of this stabilization effect, it is expected to be applicable to a wide range of unstable few-body systems, opening new perspectives for fundamental studies as well as technical applications.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Three-body forces and Efimov physics in nuclei and atoms

This review article presents historical developments and recent advances in our understanding on the three-body forces and Efimov physics, from an interdisciplinary viewpoint encompassing nuclear physics and cold atoms. Theoretical attempts to elucidate the three-body force with the chiral effective field theory are explained, followed by an overview of experiments aimed at observing signatures of the nuclear three-body force. Some recent experimental and theoretical works in the field of cold atoms devoted to measuring and engineering three-body forces among atoms are also presented. As a phenomenon arising from the three-body effect, Efimov physics in both cold atoms and nuclear systems is reviewed.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Inequivalence of stochastic and Bohmian arrival times in time-of-flight experiments

Motivated by a recent prediction [Com. Phys., 6, 195 (2023)] that time-of-flight experiments with ultracold atoms could test different interpretations of quantum mechanics, this work investigates the arrival times predicted by the stochastic interpretation, whereby quantum particles follow definite but non-deterministic and non-differentiable trajectories. The distribution of arrival times is obtained from a Fokker-Planck equation, and confirmed by direct simulation of trajectories. It is found to be in general different from the distribution predicted by the Bohmian interpretation, in which quantum particles follow definite deterministic and differentiable trajectories. This result suggests that trajectory-based interpretations of quantum mechanics could be experimentally discriminated.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Universality of Efimov states in highly mass-imbalanced cold-atom mixtures with van der Waals and dipole interactions

We study three-body systems in a mass-imbalanced two-component cold-atom mixture, and we investigate the three-body parameter of their Efimov states for both bosonic and fermionic systems, with a major focus on the Er-Er-Li Efimov states. For a system interacting solely via van der Waals interactions, the van der Waals universality of the three-body parameter is analytically derived using the quantum defect theory. With the addition of a perturbative dipole interaction between the heavy atoms, the three-body parameters of the bosonic and fermionic Efimov states are found to behave differently. When the dipole interaction is as strong as the van der Waals interaction, corresponding to realistic Er-Er-Li Efimov states, we show that the van der Waals universality persists once the effects of the non-perturbative dipole interaction are renormalized into the s-wave and p-wave scattering parameters between the heavy atoms. For a dipole interaction much stronger than the van der Waals interaction, we find that the universality of the Efimov states can be alternatively characterized by a quasi-one-dimensional scattering parameter due to a strong anisotropic deformation of the Efimov wavefunctions. Our work thus clarifies the interplay of isotropic and anisotropic forces in the universality of the Efimov states. Based on the renormalized van der Waals universality, the three-body parameter is estimated for specific isotopes of Er-Li cold-atom mixtures.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Closed-channel parameters of Feshbach resonances

This work investigates how the closed channel of a Feshbach resonance is characterised by experimental observables. Surprisingly, it is found that the two-body observables associated with the Feshbach resonance can be insensitive to the properties of the closed channel. In particular, it is impossible in this situation to determine the energy of the bound state causing the resonance from the usual experimental data. This is the case for all magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold atoms, due to their deep two-body interaction potentials. This insensitivity highlights a major difference with Feshbach resonances that involve shallow interaction potentials, such as hadron resonances. It appears however that short-range two-body correlations and three-body observables are affected by a parameter of the closed channel called the "closed-channel scattering length". A photoassociation experiment is proposed to measure this parameter in ultracold atom systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Mass Ratio Dependence of Three-Body Resonance Lifetimes in 1D and 3D

We present a theoretical study of resonance lifetimes in a two-component three-body system, specifically examining the decay of three-body resonances into a deep dimer and an unbound particle. Utilising the Gaussian expansion method together with the complex scaling method, we obtain the widths of these resonances from first principles. We focus on mass ratios in the typical range for mixtures of ultracold atoms and reveal an intriguing dependence of the resonance widths on the mass ratio: as the mass ratio increases, the widths exhibit oscillations on top of an overall decreasing trend. In particular, for some mass ratios the resonance width vanishes, implying that the resonance becomes in fact stable. Notably, near the mass ratio for Caesium-Lithium mixtures, we obtain nearly vanishing widths of the resonances which validates to treat them in the bound-state approximation. In addition, we perform our analysis of the resonance widths in both one and three dimensions and find a qualitatively similar dependence on the mass ratio.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Universal geometry of two-neutron halos and Borromean Efimov states close to dissociation

The geometry of Borromean three-body halos, such as two-neutron halo nuclei or triatomic molecules close to dissociation, is investigated using a three-body model. This model enables to analytically derive the universal geometric properties found recently within an effective-field theory for halos made of a core and two resonantly-interacting particles [Phys. Rev. Lett., 128, 212501 (2022)]. It is shown that these properties not only apply to the ground three-body state, but also to all the excited (Efimov) states where the core-particle interaction is resonant. Furthermore, a universal geometry persists away from the resonant regime between the two particles, for any state close to the three-body threshold. This "halo universality" is different from the Efimov universality which is only approximate for the ground state. It is explained by the separability of the hyper-radius and hyper-angles close to the three-body dissociation threshold.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2021

Shallow Trimers of Two Identical Fermions and One Particle in Resonant Regimes

We consider two identical fermions interacting in the p-wave channel. Each fermion also interacts with another particle in the vicinity of an s-wave resonance. We find that in addition to the Kartavtsev-Malykh universal trimer states resulting from the s-wave particle-fermion interaction, the fermion-fermion p-wave interaction induces one or two shallow trimers in a large domain of the control parameters, including a borromean regime where the ground-state trimer exists in the absence of dimers at any mass ratio between the fermions and the particle. A generic picture of the trimer spectrum emerges from this work in terms of the low-energy parameters of the interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Polaron bubble stabilised by medium-induced three-body interactions

Mixing two kinds of particles that repel each other usually results in either a homogeneous mixture when the repulsion is weak, or a complete phase separation of the two kinds when their repulsion is too strong. It is shown however that there is an intermediate regime where the two kinds can coexist in their ground state as a bubble immersed in a gas of one kind. Such a situation is obtained by adding heavy repulsive impurities into a Bose-Einstein condensate. Above a certain strength of the mutual repulsion, a stable bubble of impurities and bosons can be formed, resulting from the equilibrium between the interactions induced by the bosons inside the bubble and the outside pressure from the surrounding bosons. At some particular strength, the effective interactions between the impurities consist of only three-body interactions. Finally, above a critical strength, the bosons are ejected from the bubble and the impurities collapse into a pure bubble of impurities. This phenomenon could be observed with an imbalanced mixture of ultra-cold atoms of different masses. Moreover, it appears possible to reach a regime where the impurities form a dense bubble of strongly-interacting particles.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic Feshbach resonances in $^{7}\text{Li}-^{133}\text{Cs}$ mixtures

Motivated by the prospect of observing Efimov and Bose polaron physics in ultracold mixtures of bosonic atoms with large mass imbalance, this work investigates the magnetic Feshbach resonances between $^{7}\text{Li}$ and $^{133}\text{Cs}$. The resonances are predicted at the 1 gauss level using the model of Pires et al. [Phys. Rev. A, 90, 012710] obtained from experimental observations of resonances between $^{6}\text{Li}$ and $^{133}\text{Cs}$. It is found that a few resonances in a practical range of magnetic field intensity could be used to tune the scattering length between $^{7}\text{Li}$ and $^{133}\text{Cs}$ atoms. Opportunities for observing Efimov and Bose polaron physics are discussed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2019

QCD-like phase diagram with Efimov trimers and Cooper pairs in resonantly interacting SU(3) Fermi gases

We investigate color superfluidity and trimer formation in resonantly interacting SU(3) Fermi gases with a finite interaction range. The finite range is crucial to avoid the Thomas collapse and treat the Efimov effect occurring in this system. Using the Skorniakov-Ter-Martirosian (STM) equation with medium effects, we show the effects of the atomic Fermi distribution on the Efimov trimer energy at finite temperature. We show the critical temperature of color superfluidity within the non-selfconsistent $T$-matrix approximation (TMA). In this way, we can provide a first insight into the phase diagram as a function of the temperature $T$ and the chemical potential $\mu$. This phase diagram consists of trimer, normal, and color-superfluid phases, and is similar to that of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at finite density and temperature, indicating a possibility to simulate the properties of such extremely dense matter in the laboratory.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Width and shift of Fano-Feshbach resonances for van der Waals interactions

We revisit the basic properties of Fano-Feshbach resonances in two-body systems with van der Waals tail interactions, such as ultracold neutral atoms. Using a two-channel model and two different methods, we investigate the relationship between the width and shift of the resonances and their dependence on the low-energy parameters of the system. Unlike what was previously believed [Rev. Mod. Phys. 82, 1225 (2010)] for magnetic resonances, we find that the ratio between the width and the shift of a resonance does not depend only on the background scattering length, but also on a closed-channel scattering length. We obtain different limits corresponding to different cases of optical and magnetic resonances. Although the generalisation of the theory to the multi-channel case remains to be done, we found that our two-channel predictions are verified for a specific resonance of lithium-6.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Electron trimer states in conventional superconductors

We expand the Cooper problem by including a third electron in an otherwise empty band. We demonstrate the formation of a trimer state of two electrons above the Fermi sea and the third electron, for sufficiently strong inter-band attractive interaction. We show that the critical interaction strength is the lowest for small Fermi velocities, large masses of the additional electron and large Debye energy. This trimer state competes with the formation of the two-electron Cooper pair, and can be created transiently via optical pumping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Multi-body correlations in SU(3) Fermi gases

We investigate strong-coupling effects in a three-component atomic Fermi gas. It is a promising candidate for simulating quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and furthermore, the emergence of various phenomena such as color superfluidity and Efimov effect are anticipated in this system. In this paper, we study the effects of two-body and three-body correlations by means of the many-body $T$-matrix approximation (TMA) as well as the Skorniakov-Ter-Martirosian (STM) equation with medium corrections. We investigate the effects of finite temperature and chemical potential on the trimer binding energy at the superfluid critical point of the unitarity limit.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Tetramers of two heavy and two light bosons

This article considers the bound states of two heavy and two light bosons, when a short-range force attracts the bosons of different mass, and a short-range force repel the light bosons. The existence of such four-body bound states results from the competition between these two forces. For a given strength of the attraction, the critical strength of the repulsion necessary to unbind the four particles is calculated. This study is motivated by the experimental realisation of impurity atoms immersed in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, and aims at determining in which regime only one boson contributes to binding two impurities.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Efimov Physics: a review

This article reviews theoretical and experimental advances in Efimov physics, an array of quantum few-body and many-body phenomena arising for particles interacting via short-range resonant interactions, that is based on the appearance of a scale-invariant three-body attraction theoretically discovered by Vitaly Efimov in 1970. This three-body effect was originally proposed to explain the binding of nuclei such as the triton and the Hoyle state of carbon-12, and later considered as a simple explanation for the existence of some halo nuclei. It was subsequently evidenced in trapped ultra-cold atomic clouds and in diffracted molecular beams of gaseous helium. These experiments revealed that the previously undetermined three-body parameter introduced in the Efimov theory to stabilise the three-body attraction typically scales with the range of atomic interactions. The few- and many-body consequences of the Efimov attraction have been since investigated theoretically, and are expected to be observed in a broader spectrum of physical systems.

quant-ph↗