Universal coherent atom-molecule oscillations in the dynamics of the unitary Bose gas near a narrow Feshbach resonance

Abstract

Quench experiments on a unitary Bose gas around a broad Feshbach resonance have led to the discovery of universal dynamics. This universality manifests in the measured atomic momentum distributions, where, asymptotically, a quasiequilibrated metastable state is found in which both the momentum distribution and the timescales are determined by the particle density. In this Letter we present counterpart studies for the case of a very narrow Feshbach resonance of Cs133 atoms with a width of 8.3 mG. In dramatic contrast to the behavior reported earlier, a rapid quench of an atomic condensate to unitarity is observed to ultimately lead to coherent oscillations involving dynamically produced condensed and noncondensed molecules and atoms. The same characteristic frequency, determined by the Feshbach coupling, is observed in all types of particles. To understand these quench dynamics and how these different particle species are created, we develop a beyond Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov dynamical framework including a type of cross-correlation between atoms and molecules. This leads to quantitative consistency with the measured frequency. Our results, which can be applied to the general class of bosonic superfluids associated with narrow Feshbach resonances, establish a alternate paradigm for universal dynamics dominated by quantum many-body interactions.