Simple Decay Curve Model

Assume one has atoms and molecules (of either the same or different
species) inside a gas at a temperature T, although the temperature of the
atoms and molecules need not be the same. The loss of both molecules
and atoms can be written as
dnm
= −κnm − αna nm − Γn2m
dt
dna
= −κna − αna nm
dt
where κ is the background loss rate, α is the atom-molecule decay rate and
Γ is the molecule-molecule decay rate. Note, κ has been experimentally
measured, by measuring the lifetime of only one spin component of Li, to
be κ = 0.0089s−1 .
4 Li |1> Background Decay Fit
x 10
9

8.5

8
Atom Number

7.5

6.5

6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s)

Figure 1: Li Background Loss Rate Measurement

If we now integrate over the volume we get

dNm α Γ 2
= −κNm − Na Nm − Nm (1)
dt νam νmm
dNa α
= −κNa − Na Nm (2)
dt νam

1
where the overlap volumes are given by

−1 1 Z
νam = − na nm d3 x (3)
Na Nm
−1 1 Z
νmm = − 2 n2m d3 x (4)
Na

Assuming that
−1 −1
• νam , νmm are time-independent, signifying no significant heating

• and na is also time-independent, justifiable in the limit of large molecule

numbers with respect to atom numbers, or vice versa

we can obtain analytical solutions for both loss rates.

For the molecular loss,
dNm
dt = α −Γ
Nm (−κ − νam Na ) − N2
νmm m
dNm
dt = 2
−K1 Nm − K2 Nm
− K12 dNm
dt = K12
K1 2
(Nm + 2K 2
) − 4K 2 2

(5)
α Γ
where K1 = κ + N
νam a
and K2 = νmm
. Using the identity
Z
dy 1 y−c
= ln
y2 −c 2 2c y + c
we can solve (with some rearrangement) to obtain

Nm0 K1
Nm = (6)
−Nm0 K2 + (Nm0 K2 + K1 )eK1 t )

where Nm0 = initial molecule number. In the limit that the background
collision rate, κ, and the atom-molecule decay rate, α, are small, we obtain

Nm0
lim Nm = (7)
K1 →0 tNm0 K2 + 1

2
 Similarly, the atomic loss can be solved to obtain

Na = Nk0 e−K1 t (8)

α
where K1 = κ + N
νam m
and now assuming that

• nm remains constant

Using these fitting functions, we can extract K1 and K2 coefficients

(curves with fits shown at the end). All that would be needed now is
to find the proper overlap integrals to converts these coefficients into the
proper decay rates.

M agneticF ield(G) K1 (s−1 )

600 0.96 ± 0.05
665 1.59 ± 0.06
730 1.46 ± 0.07
795 0.32 ± 0.02
834 0.078 ± 0.006
860 0.049 ± 0.006
925 0.014 ± 0.002
990 0.0158 ± 0.0008
1055 0.0224 ± 0.001

Table 1: K1 , atom-molecule loss coefficients

M agneticF ield(G) K2 (s−1 )

600 (2.53 ± 0.03) ×10−4
665 (2.09 ± 0.08) ×10−5
730 (2.0 ± 0.2) ×10−6
795 (6.7 ± 1) ×10−7
834 (1.1 ± 0.4) ×10−7
860 (1.3 ± 0.3) ×10−7
925 (1.5 ± 0.1) ×10−7
990 (1.3 ± 0.2) ×10−7
1055 ( 1.2 ± 0.06) ×10−7

Table 2: K2 , molecule-molecule coefficients

3
Volume Overlap Integrals
Gauss Fitting Functions
To simplify the calculation of the volume overlap integrals, we note that
atoms and
r
molecules of the same species have the same trap frequencies,
polarizability
as ω ∝ mass and both the polarizability and mass of molecules
are twice as large as that of their constituent atoms. As K is not degener-
ate, we can assume it’s density profile approximates a gaussian. Li, on the
other hand, is quite degenerate. As a result, we can assume that all atoms
are paired into molecules on the BEC side. If we assume that this molecu-
lar cloud is not condensed (i.e. that mean field does not come into play),
then we can also approximate it’s density profile as a gaussian. Then, the
atom-molecule density overlap is given by
(xk −xk,g )2 x2
3 Z +∞ −
Y − k
2σ 2 2σ 2
na,m = na,0 nm,0 e a,k e m,k

j=1 −∞
µ ¶v
x2 x2 u
3 k,g k,g 2 2
Y −
2σ 2
1− 2 +σ 2 /σ 2
u σa,k σm,k
= na,0 nm,0 (2π)3/2 e a,k
σ
a,k a,k m,k t (9)
2 2
j=1 σa,k + σm,k

where na,0 , nm,0 represents the peak atomic and molecular densities re-
spectively, σa,k , σm,k their respective waists, xk,g represents the difference
in gravitational sag in each direction (of course, it is nonzero only in the
z direction) and the index j correspond to the different spatial directions.
Taking into account the individual atom numbers
(xk −xk,g )2
3 Z +∞ −
Y 2σ 2
Na = na,0 e a,k

j=1 −∞
3 q
Y
= na,0 (2π)3/2 2
σa,k (10)
j=1
3 q
Y
3/2 2
Nm = nm,0 (2π) σm,k (11)
j=1

we can solve for the overlap volume to give

Na Nm
νa,m =
na,m

4
 µ ¶
x2 x2
3
Y
k,g
1− k,g
q
2σ 2 σ 2 +σ 2 /σ 2
= (2π)3/2 e a,k a,k a,k m,k 2
σa,k 2
+ σm,k (12)
j=1

Using our in-trap images from 07/01/2009, we can calculate our overlap
integrals over the magnetic field range considers. We get

−8 Li molecule−K atom Overlap Volume

x 10
5
w/o Grav Sag
4.5 w/ Grav Sag

3.5
Volume (cm3)

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
660 680 700 720 740 760 780 800 820 840
Magnetic Field (G)

Figure 2: Li-K Overlap Integrals using Gaussian Fits

With these overlap integrals taken into account, we get the following
decay rates
3
M agneticF ield(G) α( cm
s )
600 (2.7 ± 0.2) ×10−12
665 (1.29 ± 0.06) ×10−12
730 (8.1 ± 0.6) ×10−13
795 (1.7 ± 0.2) ×10−13
834 (4.8 ± 0.1) ×10−14
860 (2.5 ± 0.3) ×10−14
925 (8.9 ± 1) ×10−15
990 (6.9 ± 0.5) ×10−15
1055 (4.7 ± 0.5) ×10−15

Table 3: α, atom-molecule decay rate

5
 3
M agneticF ield(G) Γ( cm
s )
600 (8.4 ± 2) ×10−12
665 (7 ± 1) ×10−13
730 (3.3 ± 0.6) ×10−14
795 (1.1 ± 0.2) ×10−14
834 (5.0 ± 0.9) ×10−15
860 (5.3 ± 1) ×10−15
925 (4.8 ± 0.9) ×10−15
990 (4.3 ± 0.8) ×10−15
1055 (3.8 ± 0.7) ×10−15

Table 4: Γ, molecule-molecule decay rate

Thomas Fermi Fitting Functions

If, on the other hand, we were to use Thomas Fermi fits for the degenerate
Li gas, then the relevant density function for the molecular part would be
 1/γ 
3 2
X x
nm = nm,0 M ax 
1 − 2
j 
, 0
 (13)
j=1 Rxj

where γ depends on the scattering length. On resonance and on the far

BCS side, γ = 23 while on the far BEC side γ = 1.
For the BEC limit (γ = 1), we can integrate along the z axis to obtain the
column density
  
Z zmax 3
X x2j
nm,2D = nm,0 dzM ax 1 − 2
 , 0
zmin j=1 Rxj
r
à !xmax =+Rz 2 2
1− x 2 − y 2
2 2 3
x y 1z Rx Ry
= nm,0 z − 2z − 2z − r
Rx Ry 3 Rz2 xmin =−Rz
2 2
1− x 2 − y 2
Rx Ry
 3/2 
2 2
 X x j  
= pod M ax 1 − 2
, 0 (14)
j=1 Rxj

where the pod = 43 nm,peak Rz is the peak optical density. With the use of the

6
 Li−K Decay Rates vs. Magnetic Field
−10
10

Li molecule − Li molecule Decay Rate

K − Li molecule Decay Rate
Background Level
−11
10

−12
Decay Rate (cm /s)

10
3

−13
10

−14
10

−15
10
600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050
Magnetic Field (G)

Figure 3: Li-K Decay rates using only Gauss fits

following integration identities

Z " Ã ! #
2 2 3/2 1 x √
(c − x ) dx = 3tan−1 √ 2 c 4
+ x(5c 2
− 2x 2
) c 2 − x2
8 c − x2

7
Z " Ã ! #
2 2 5/2 1 x √
(c − x ) dx = 15tan−1 √ 2 c 6
+ x(33c4
− 26x 2 2
c − 8x 4
) c2 − x2
48 c − x2
Z Ã !
2 2 2 x5 2c2 x3 4
(c − x ) dx = − +c x
5 3

we can integrate to find the atom number and density,

 3/2 
Z xmax Z ymax 2 2
X x
Nm,BEC = pod dx dyM ax 
1 − 2
j 
, 0

xmin ymin j=1 Rxj
Z xmax Z ymax " Ã ! #3/2
1 x2
= pod dx dy 3 Ry2 1 − 2 −y 2
xmin ymin Ry Rx
à !2
3π Z xmax x2
= pod Ry dx 1 − 2
8 xmin Rx
2π
= pod Rx Ry (15)
5
Nm,BEC
nm,peak,BEC = 8π (16)
R R R
15 x y z

On Resonance, using the same identities as above, we can obtain the

column density
 2 
2 2
 X x j  
nm,2D = pod M ax 1 − 2
, 0 (17)
j=1 Rxj

3π
with pod = n R.
8 m,peak z
With further integration, we obtain
π
Nm,res = pod Rx Ry (18)
3
Nm,res
nm,peak,res = π2
(19)
8
Rx Ry Rz

Comparing the densities we measure using the above Thomas-Fermi

fits with that from gaussian fits gives us

8
 12 Li Molecular Peak Densities derived from various fitting routines
x 10
2.4
gamma = 2/3, on resononce
gamma = 1, BEC side
gauss fits
2.2

2
Peak Molecular Density (atoms/cm3)

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8
660 680 700 720 740 760 780 800 820 840
Magnetic Field (G)

Figure 4: Li Molecular Peak Densities measured with the different fitting

functions discussed above

Overlap Integrals with Thomas Fermi Fitting Functions

Starting with the BEC case, γ = 1, our density overlap integral
  
2 −(z−z )2
3
X x2j −x2 −y g
noverlap = nLi,0 nk,0 M ax 1 −  , 0 e 2σx2 e 2σy2 e 2σz2 (20)
2 Rxj
j=1

where zg is the total contribution of the gravitational sag between Li and

K.
Included below are our decay curves for both K loss and Li loss (all
normalized) at different magnetic fields

9
 K Decay Fit at 600 G K Decay Fit at 834 G
1400 2500

1200
2000

1000
Atom Number

Atom Number
1500
800

600
1000

400

500
200

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

K Decay Fit at 665 G K Decay Fit at 860 G

2500 3000

2500
2000

2000
Atom Number

Atom Number
1500

1500

1000
1000

500
500

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

K Decay Fit at 730 G K Decay Fit at 925 G

3000 2800

2600
2500
2400

2200
2000
Atom Number

Atom Number

2000

1500 1800

1600
1000
1400

1200
500
1000

0 800
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

K Decay Fit at 795 G K Decay Fit at 990 G

3500 4000

3000
3500

2500
Atom Number

Atom Number

3000

2000

2500
1500

2000
1000

500 1500
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

Figure 5: Sample K Decay Curves with Fits

10
 4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 600G 4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 834G
x 10 x 10
3 9.5

9
2.5
8.5
Li Molecule Number

Li Molecule Number
2 8

7.5
1.5
7

1 6.5

6
0.5
5.5

0 5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 665G 4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 860G

x 10 x 10
9 9.5

8 9

7 8.5
Li Molecule Number

Li Molecule Number
6 8

5 7.5

4 7

3 6.5

2 6

1 5.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 730G 4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 925G

x 10 x 10
11 9.5

10.5 9

10
8.5
9.5
Li Molecule Number

Li Molecule Number

8
9
7.5
8.5
7
8
6.5
7.5
6
7

6.5 5.5

6 5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

4 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 795G 5 Li Molecular Decay Fit at 990G

x 10 x 10
11.5 1.25

1.2
11
1.15

10.5 1.1
Li Molecule Number

Li Molecule Number

1.05
10
1
9.5
0.95

9 0.9

0.85
8.5
0.8

8 0.75
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (s) time (s)

Figure 6: Sample Li Molecular Decay Curves with Fits

11
 Li Molecular Decay
1.4
600 G
665 G
730 G
1.2 795 G
834 G
Li Molecule Number (Normalized Units)

860 G
1 925 G
990 G
1055 G
0.8 Background

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Hold Time (s)

Figure 7: Li Molecular Decay Curves at different Magnetic Fields

12
 K Lifetime Curves
1.4
600 G
665 G
1.2 730 G
795 G
836 G
860 G
1
925 G
990 G
1055 G
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
K Atom Number (Normalized Units)

Figure 8: K Decay Curves at different Magnetic Fields

13