Hyperfine dependent atom-molecule loss analyzed by the analytic solution of few-body loss equations

Abstract

We prepare mixtures of ultracold K39 atoms in various hyperfine spin states with Na23K39 molecules in an optical dipole trap at a fixed magnetic field and study inelastic two-body atom-molecule collisions. We observe atom-molecule losses that are hyperfine dependent with a two-body loss rate far below the universal limit. We analyze the two-body loss dynamics based on the derivation of general and easy applicable analytic solutions for the differential equations describing the loss of an arbitrary number γ of particles in a single collisional event.