Spectroscopic determination of magnetic-field-dependent interactions in an ultracold Yb(3P2)-Li mixture

Abstract

We present experimental results on the inelastic and elastic interspecies interactions between ytterbium (Yb) in the metastable ${}^3\mathrm{P}_2$ state loaded into a deep optical lattice and spin polarized lithium (Li) in its ground state. Focusing on the $m_J = 0$ magnetic sublevel of Yb(${}^3\mathrm{P}_2$), bias magnetic fields between 20 G and 800 G are investigated and significantly enhanced inelastic collision rates with high magnetic fields are found. In addition, by direct spectroscopy of the Yb Mott-insulator immersed in the Li Fermi gas an upper boundary of the background scattering length of the Yb(${}^3\mathrm{P}_2, m_J=0$)-Li(${}^2\mathrm{S}_{1/2}, F=1/2, m_F=+1/2$) system is estimated, revealing the absence of useful Feshbach resonances. These observations are qualitatively consistent with the theoretical calculations.