A model for photoassociation of ultracold atoms and molecules is presented, and applied to the case of $^{ 39}$K and $^{ 23}$Na$^{ 39}$K bosonic particles. The model relies on the assumption that photoaossociation is dominated by long-range atom-molecule interactions, well outside the chemical bond region. The frequency of the photoassociation laser is chosen close to a bound-bound rovibronic transition from the $X^1\Sigma^+$ ground state toward the metastable $b^3\Pi$ lowest excited state of $^{ 23}$Na$^{ 39}$K, allowing to neglect any other excitation which could hinder the photoassociation detection. The energy level structure of the long-range $^{ 39}$K$\cdots$$^{ 23}$Na$^{ 39}$K excited super-dimer is computed in the space-fixed frame by solving coupled-channel equations, involving the coupling between the $^{ 23}$Na$^{ 39}$K internal rotation with the mechanical rotation of the super-dimer complex. A quite rich structure is obtained, and the corresponding photoassociation rates are presented. Other possible photossociation transitions are discussed in the context of the proposed model.
Categories: physics.chem-ph cond-mat.quant-gas