Recombination rates from potential models close to the unitary limit

Abstract

We investigate universal behavior in the recombination rate of three bosons close to threshold. Using the He-He system as a reference, we solve the three-body Schr\"odinger equation above the dimer threshold for different potentials having large values of the two-body scattering length $a$. To this aim, we use the hyperspherical adiabatic expansion and we extract the $S$ matrix through the integral relations recently derived. The results are compared to the universal form, $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\approx}67.1{\mathrm{sin}}^{2}[{s}_{0}\mathrm{ln}({\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{*}a)+\ensuremath{\gamma}]$, for different values of $a$ and selected values of the three-body parameter ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{*}$. A good agreement with the universal formula is obtained after introducing a particular type of finite-range corrections, which have been recently proposed [A. Kievsky and M. Gattobigio, Phys. Rev. A 87, 052719 (2013)]. Furthermore, we analyze the validity of the above formula in the description of a very different system: neutron-neutron-proton recombination. Our analysis confirms the universal character of the process in systems of very different scales having a large two-body scattering length.