Potential and Feshbach s-wave resonances in coupled atomic collision channels

Abstract

We discuss s-wave scattering in an atomic binary collision with two coupled channels, tunable by an external magnetic field, one channel open and the other closed for the incident energies considered. The analysis is performed with a stylized model of square-well potentials. This simplification allows for a pedagogically thorough discussion of the different scattering resonances that appear in coupled channels. One of them, the potential resonances at vanishing energy, occurs as a bound state of the coupled system emerges, in turn, tuned at a very precise value of the external field. The other resonances, described by Feshbach theory, occur when the incident energy is near a bound state of the closed channel, as if it were decoupled from the open channel. These resonances exist for values of the external field above a particular threshold value. Besides the potential intrinsic value of this study in a quantum mechanics course, as the analysis can be performed with minor numerical calculations, it is also an aid for the understanding of current research advances in the exciting field of ultracold gases.