Three-body recombination in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum gas*

Quantum three-body recombination in three-dimensional systems is influenced by a series of weakly bound trimers known as Efimov states, which are induced by short-range interactions and exhibit a discrete scaling symmetry. On the other hand, two-dimensional systems with contact interactions are characterized by continuous scale invariance and support no Efimov physics. This raises questions about the behaviour of three-body recombination in the transition from three to two dimensions. We use ultracold caesium atoms trapped in anisotropic potentials formed by a pair of counter-propagating laser beams to experimentally investigate three-body recombination in quasi-two-dimensional systems with tunable confinement and tunable interactions. In our recent experiments, we observed a smooth transition of the three-body recombination rate coefficient from a three-dimensional to a deeply quasi-two-dimensional system. A comparison between the results obtained near two Feshbach resonances indicates a universal behaviour of three-body recombination in the quasi-two-dimensional regime.