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Nature 440, 289-290 (16 March 2006) | doi:10.1038/440289b; Published online 15 March 2006
Quantum physics: A ménage à trois laid bare
Brett D. Esry1 & Chris H. Greene2
Abstract
Quantum bodies that can't settle down together in pairs get on fine in a cosy threesome. This startling claim about the private life of particles has just seen its first experimental confirmation.
In 1970, Vitaly Efimov, possessor of a freshly minted Russian PhD in theoretical nuclear physics, predicted a bizarre quantum-mechanical effect1: a system consisting of three particles, none of whose two-particle subsystems is stable, can, under certain circumstances, produce an infinite number of bound energy levels. That prediction has been a source of concern for theorists ever since.
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Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of caesium atomsNature Letters to Editor (16 Mar 2006)