AWhat changed
Zhang, Nagata and colleagues observed collective atom–molecule reaction dynamics in an ultracold cesium gas near a narrow Feshbach resonance. After rapid molecule formation and heating, the atomic and molecular populations oscillated for several milliseconds. Higher condensate densities produced faster oscillations. The density scaling and an approximately 20 percent molecular fraction supported a model dominated by coherent three-body recombination. The family was first reported in 2022 and published in 2023.
Scientific scope
Zhang, Nagata and colleagues observed collective atom–molecule reaction dynamics in an ultracold cesium gas near a narrow Feshbach resonance. After rapid molecule formation and heating, the atomic and molecular populations oscillated for several milliseconds. Higher condensate densities produced faster oscillations. The density scaling and an approximately 20 percent molecular fraction supported a model dominated by coherent three-body recombination. The family was first reported in 2022 and published in 2023. The mechanism is inferred from finite-time population measurements and comparisons with approximate few-mode models, with losses, calibration uncertainty and trap-dependent density estimates. It does not establish that all reactions accelerate on cooling: the measured initial formation-rate coefficient fell below the condensation temperature. Earlier molecule condensation and reactive-coupling theories are inherited; entanglement and loss-free transfer were not demonstrated here. Exact2023 publication differences and quantitative model-prefactor discrepancies remain unresolved.
Evidence
The linked original works support the scoped statement and contribution attribution. WRS has not independently replayed experiments or reconstructed a full mathematical proof. The mechanism is inferred from finite-time population measurements and comparisons with approximate few-mode models, with losses, calibration uncertainty and trap-dependent density estimates. It does not establish that all reactions accelerate on cooling: the measured initial formation-rate coefficient fell below the condensation temperature. Earlier molecule condensation and reactive-coupling theories are inherited; entanglement and loss-free transfer were not demonstrated here. Exact2023 publication differences and quantitative model-prefactor discrepancies remain unresolved.
Contributors
- The named authors in the research record · SCIENCE: These are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged.
Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-28.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.
Full scientific record · Browse contribution grades · Request a correction