Shallow Efimov tetramer as inelastic virtual state and resonant enhancement of the atom-trimer relaxation

Abstract

We use exact four-boson scattering equations in the momentum-space framework to study the universal properties of shallow Efimov tetramers and their dependence on the two-boson scattering length. We demonstrate that, in contrast to previous predictions, the shallow tetramer in a particular experimentally unexplored regime is not an unstable bound state but an inelastic virtual state. This leads to a resonant behaviour of the atom-trimer scattering length and thereby to a resonant enhancement of the trimer relaxation in ultracold atom-trimer mixtures.