Selecting resonances in molecular scattering by anti-Zeno effect

• Published in: The Journal of chemical physics Vol. 158; no. 15
• Main Authors: Yang, Hanwei, Li, Zunqi, Zhang, Songbin, Cao, Lushuai, Zhang, Zeji, Li, Sizhe, Wang, Gaoren, Xu, Haitan, Li, Zheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 21.04.2023
• ISSN: 1089-7690
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0144665

Utilizing the anti-Zeno effect, we demonstrate that the resonances of ultracold molecular interactions can be selectively controlled by modulating the energy levels of molecules with a dynamic magnetic field. We show numerically that the inelastic scattering cross section of the selected isotopic molecules in the mixed isotopic molecular gas can be boosted for 2-3 orders of magnitude by modulation of Zeeman splittings. The mechanism of the resonant anti-Zeno effect in the ultracold scattering is based on matching the spectral modulation function of the magnetic field with the Floquet-engineered resonance of the molecular collision. The resulting insight provides a recipe to implement resonant anti-Zeno effect in control of molecular interactions, such as the selection of reaction channels between molecules involving shape and Feshbach resonances, and external field-assisted separation of isotopes.