Three-body recombination of cold fermionic atoms

Abstract

Recombination of identical, spin-polarized fermions in cold three-body collisions is investigated. We parametrize the mechanisms for recombination in terms of the `scattering volume' Vp and another length scale r0. Model two-body interactions were used within the framework of the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. We examine the recombination rate K3 as a function of the collision energy E for various values of Vp. Not only do we consider the dominant JΠ = 1+ case, but also the next-leading order contributions from JΠ = 1- and 3-. We discuss the behaviour near a two-body resonance and the expected universality of fermionic recombination. Comparisons with boson recombination are considered in detail.