Nuclear Spin Relaxation in Cold Atom–Molecule Collisions
Nuclear Spin Relaxation in Cold Atom–Molecule Collisions
复制标题
冷原子分子碰撞中的核自旋弛豫
DOI:
10.1021/acs.jpca.2c08646
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发表时间:
2023
期刊:
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
Tscherbul, Timur V.
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Hermsmeier, Rebekah;Xing, Xiaodong;Tscherbul, Timur V.
We explore the quantum dynamics of nuclear spin relaxation in cold collisions of1Σ+molecules with structureless atoms in an external magnetic field. To this end, we develop a rigorous coupled-channel methodology, which accounts for rotational and nuclear spin degrees of freedom of1Σ+molecules and their interaction with an external magnetic field as well as anisotropic atom–molecule interactions. We apply the methodology to study the collisional relaxation of the nuclear spin sublevels of13CO molecules immersed in a cold buffer gas of4He atoms. We find that nuclear spin relaxation in the ground rotational manifold (N= 0) of13CO occurs extremely slowly due to the absence of direct couplings between the nuclear spin sublevels. The rates of collisional transitions between the rotationally excited (N= 1) nuclear spin states of13CO are generally much higher due to the direct nuclear spin–rotation coupling between the states. These transitions obey selection rules, which depend on the values of space-fixed projections of rotational and nuclear spin angular momenta (MNandMI) for the initial and final molecular states. For some initial states, we also observe a strong magnetic field dependence, which can be understood by using the first Born approximation. We use our calculated nuclear spin relaxation rates to investigate the thermalization of a single nuclear spin state of13CO(N= 0) immersed in a cold buffer gas of4He. The calculated nuclear spin relaxation times (T1≃ 1 s atT= 1 K at a He density of 10–14cm–3) display a steep temperature dependence decreasing rapidly at elevated temperatures due to the increased population of rotationally excited states, which undergo nuclear spin relaxation at a much faster rate. Thus, long relaxation times ofN= 0 nuclear spin states in cold collisions with buffer gas atoms can be maintained only at sufficiently low temperatures (kBT≪ 2Be), whereBeis the rotational constant.