Ultracold RbSr molecules can be formed by magnetoassociation

Abstract

We investigate the interactions between ultracold alkali metal atoms and closed-shell atoms using electronic structure calculations on the prototype system Rb+Sr. There are molecular bound states that can be tuned across atomic thresholds with magnetic field, and there are previously neglected terms in the collision Hamiltonian that can produce zero-energy Feshbach resonances with significant widths. The largest effect comes from the interaction-induced variation of the Rb hyperfine coupling. The resonances may be used to form paramagnetic polar molecules if the magnetic field can be controlled precisely enough.