Observation of a p-wave Optical Feshbach Resonance

We demonstrate a p$-wave optical Feshbach resonance (OFR) using purely long-range molecular states of a fermionic isotope of ytterbium ^{171}Yb, following the proposition made by K. Goyal et al. [Phys. Rev. A 82, 062704 (2010)]. The p-wave OFR is clearly observed as a modification of a photoassociation rate for atomic ensembles at about 5 micro-Kelvins. A scattering phase shift variation of delta eta=0.022 rad is observed with an atom loss rate coefficient K=28.0*10^{-12} cm^3/s.

Nanometer-scale spatial modulation of an inter-atomic interaction in a Bose-Einstein condensate

We demonstrate nanometer-scale spatial control of inter-atomic interactions in a Bose-Einstein condensate of ytterbium(Yb). A pulsed optical standing wave, tuned near an optical Feshbach resonance varies the s-wave scattering length continuously across the standing wave pattern. The modulated mean-field energy with a spatial period of every 278 nm is monitored by a diffraction pattern in a time-of-flight image. We observe a wide scattering length control of up to 160 nm. The demonstrated spatial modulation of the scattering length proves that the high resolution control of atomic interactions is possible.