First-Order Phase Transition In Atom-Molecule Quantum Degenerate Mixtures With Coherent Three-Body Recombination
Abstract
We map the phase diagram of a two-mode atom-molecule Bose-Einstein condensate with Fano-Feshbach and coherent three-body recombination (cTBR) terms. The standard second-order phase transition observed as the molecular energy is tuned through the Fano-Feshbach resonance is replaced by a first-order transition when cTBR becomes prominent, due to a double-well structure in the free energy landscape. This transition is associated with atom-molecule entanglement, bistability, and molecular metastability. Our results establish cTBR as a powerful knob for quantum state engineering and control of reaction dynamics in ultracold chemistry.
Recommended Citation
G. A. Bougas et al., "First-Order Phase Transition In Atom-Molecule Quantum Degenerate Mixtures With Coherent Three-Body Recombination," Physical Review Letters, vol. 137, no. 9, article no. 093401, American Physical Society, Aug 2026.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/llw4-tbnt
Department(s)
Physics
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1079-7114; 0031-9007
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 American Physical Society, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
28 Aug 2026
Comments
Army Research Office, Grant W911NF-26-1-A043