Trap-induced resonances in controlled collisions of cesium atoms

Abstract

We consider the feasibility of observing a trap-induced resonance [Stock et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 183201 (2003)] for the case of two 133Cs atoms, trapped in separated wells of a polarization-gradient optical lattice, and interacting through a multichannel scattering process. Due to the anomalously large scattering length of cesium dimers, a strong coupling can occur between vibrational states of the trap and a weakly bound molecular state that is made resonant by the ac-Stark shift of the lattice. We calculate the energy spectrum of the two-atom system as a function of the distance between two potential wells by connecting the solutions of the Schroedinger equation for the short-range molecular potential to that of the long-range trap in a self-consistent manner. The short-range potential is treated through a multichannel pseudopotential, parametrized by the K matrix, calculated numerically for atoms in free space in a close-coupling approximation. This captures both the bound molecular spectrum as well as the energy-dependent scattering for all partial waves. We establish realistic operating conditions under which the trap-induced resonance could be observed and show that this strong and coherent interaction could be used as a basis for high-fidelity two-qubit quantum logic operations.