Condensed Matter Seminar: Crossover from few-to many-body physics: The Efimov effect and the Bose polaron

Arthur Christianen (MPQ)
Simple few-body physics can give rise to interesting emergent many-body effects.

Arthur Christianen (MPQ)
Online Seminar
Mon, 02. November 2020, 11:30 am (MEZ)

Abstract:

Simple few-body physics can give rise to interesting emergent many-body effects. One of the smallest emergent effects one can imagine is given by the Efimov effect. This is a cooperative binding effect where three particles with pairwise interactions can form a special type of Borromean three-body bound states. We study the role of Efimov physics in the paradigm of the Bose polaron and the bosonic equivalent of the polaron to molecule transition. We use a variational method based on Gaussian States to show that the formation of large Efimov-like bound states can lead to the breakdown of the polaron. For light impurities, our results could be probed in realistic cold atom experiments.