Role of the scattering length in three-boson dynamics and Bose - Einstein condensation

Abstract

We investigate systems of three identical bosons in the context of current experimental efforts to achieve Bose - Einstein condensation. Calculated adiabatic hyperspherical potential curves permit us to draw some general conclusions about the dependence of the three-body physics on the two-body scattering length. In particular, we find that the long-range three-body interaction is effectively repulsive for either sign of the scattering length. This also hints that a stable Bose - Einstein condensate might be formed for either sign.