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Rotation of Quantum Impurities in the Presence of a Many-Body Environment

Richard Schmidt and Mikhail Lemeshko
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 203001 – Published 18 May 2015
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Abstract

We develop a microscopic theory describing a quantum impurity whose rotational degree of freedom is coupled to a many-particle bath. We approach the problem by introducing the concept of an “angulon”—a quantum rotor dressed by a quantum field—and reveal its quasiparticle properties using a combination of variational and diagrammatic techniques. Our theory predicts renormalization of the impurity rotational structure, such as that observed in experiments with molecules in superfluid helium droplets, in terms of a rotational Lamb shift induced by the many-particle environment. Furthermore, we discover a rich many-body-induced fine structure, emerging in rotational spectra due to a redistribution of angular momentum within the quantum many-body system.

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  • Received 17 February 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.203001

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Richard Schmidt1,2,* and Mikhail Lemeshko3,†

  • 1ITAMP, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 2Physics Department, Harvard University, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 3IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria

  • *richard.schmidt@cfa.harvard.edu
  • mikhail.lemeshko@ist.ac.at

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 20 — 22 May 2015

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